Kohl's

Kohl's is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. As of February 2013, it is the largest department store chain in the United States with 1,158 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1927. It went on to become a successful chain in the local area, and in 1962 the company branched out by opening its first department store. British American Tobacco Company took a controlling interest in the company in 1972 while still managed by the Kohl Family, and in 1979, the corporation was sold to BATUS Inc. A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it public in 1992. Kohl's is headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. It became the largest department store chain in the United States in May 2012, surpassing its biggest competitor J. C. Penney. The company is listed on both the S&P 500 (since 1998) and the Fortune 500. In terms of revenue, the chain was the 23rd-largest retailer in the United States in 2019. As of 2013, Kohl's was the second-largest U.S. department store company by retail sales.