Kohl’s has reported a drop in sales for the third quarter, which fell short of management’s expectations.

The company’s net sales slid 8.8 per cent for the quarter ended November 2, while comparable sales fell by a further 9.3 per cent. 

GlobalData MD Neil Saunders said the results were abysmal as the extent of the decline was much worse than the second quarter’s 4.2 per cent drop.

“The department store chain has essentially been stuck in reverse gear for almost three years, with 10 consecutive quarters of negative sales numbers.

“Given the amount of inflation and growth in the wider market over this same period, this is nothing short of a terrible performance – and it puts Kohl’s firmly towards the bottom of the retail league table,” he added.

The analyst attributed some of the declines to external factors including warmer than average weather that affected apparel demand and consumers remaining under pressure. However, he stressed that most of the responsibility lies at Koh’s feet.

The company’s proposition has been broken for quite some time and there have been too few efforts to fix things, he elaborated, adding that product displays and overall in-store experience are not very compelling.

The poor numbers extended to the bottom line with net income falling 62 per cent to $22 million. 

For the full year, the company expects net sales to drop 7-8 per cent and comparable sales to be down 6-7 per cent.

“In the short term, trading over the holiday is likely to be soft and Kohl’s will continue to lose market share,” Saunders said.

“Longer term, the hope for the year ahead is that a stronger consumer economy, some very weak prior year comparatives, and a new management team will allow Kohl’s to punch out some better numbers.”