Consumers shop at Kohl's for inexpensive clothing and household items but this month, Kohl's will also showcase expensive wearables as they announced that they will start to sell Apple Watches at 400 out of its 1000 stores on November 15 after partnering up with Apple.
According to Digital Trends, the announcement has been made after Kohl's competitor; Macy's also made an announcement about selling Apple Watches in more than 180 of their retail store locations and a plan on opening an Apple store in its famous 1 million square- foot flagship store in New York's Herald Square.
The difference between the two is that at the Macy's flagship in Manhattan, they will place the Apple boutique near the watch area where they also sell other tech devices such as iPhones and laptops. On the other hand, Kohl's will locate the Apple Watches in their active wear and wellness section.
In an interview with Fortune, Kohl's chief merchandizing and customer officer Michelle Gass stated that they are not launching the Apple Watches as an electronics partner. "We were positioning this as an active and wellness device," she said.
Apple's partnership with Kohl's is their way of adding hundreds more distribution point beyond the city centers which usually house Apple stores and also reach other market such as the modest- income shoppers and a wider-ranging clientele. This will also show that the Apple Watch is somewhat approachable if it will also be available in an accessible store like Kohl's.
"For Apple, the Kohl's partnership is a way to add hundreds more distribution points beyond the city centers that typically house Apple stores, and reach a more modest-income shopper and a wider-ranging clientele," as Fortune reported. However, Kohl's will still be cautious on how much merchandise they will order so as to not affect their gross margin too much if not all of the Apple Watches goes unsold. This is because Kohl's is buying smartly, as stated by Gass.