Kohl's Corporation vs Nordstrom, Inc.: Strategic Comparison

This in-depth comparison examines Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching Kohl's Corporation on its own, evaluating Nordstrom, Inc., or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. is widest.

On the headline numbers, annual revenue is $15.5B (FY2025) for Kohl's Corporation and $15.0B (FY2024) for Nordstrom, Inc., while their respective market capitalizations stand at $2.0B and N/A. Both Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. are headquartered in United States. Their local markets and applicable rules may still differ.

Kohl's Corporation: Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. As of January 31, 2026 it ran 1,153 stores in 49 states, plus Kohls.com, and had an average of about 84,000 associates in FY2025. It became the largest U.S. department store chain by store count by building in suburban strip centers instead of malls. Its pitch is national brands at promotional prices. Since 2021 it has added Sephora shop-in-shops and Babies 'R' Us sections to bring in new shoppers. It has also gone through four CEO changes since 2022 while sales kept falling.

Nordstrom, Inc.: Nordstrom, Inc. is a Seattle-based fashion retailer selling apparel, shoes, beauty, and accessories through full-line Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom Rack off-price stores, Nordstrom Local service hubs, Nordstrom.com, and NordstromRack.com in the United States. Founded in 1901, it is run by the fourth generation of the Nordstrom family: co-CEOs Erik and Pete Nordstrom and chief merchandising officer Jamie Nordstrom. The family and El Puerto de Liverpool took the company private in May 2025 in a deal valued at about $6.25B. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Nordstrom was founded in 1901 in Seattle, Washington, by Swedish immigrant John W. Nordstrom and shoemaker Carl Wallin as Wallin & Nordstrom, growing from a downtown shoe store into an iconic luxury department store chain.

Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc..

Kohl's Corporation business model: Kohl's makes money mainly by selling merchandise. In FY2025 net sales were $14.8 billion of $15.5 billion total revenue. It runs a high-low promotional model: frequent percent-off coupons, Kohl's Cash rewards and clearance events bring shoppers back. Its mix combines national brands such as Nike and Levi's with higher-margin private labels like Sonoma Goods for Life, Croft & Barrow and Apt. 9. The rest of revenue, $668 million of 'other revenue' in FY2025, comes mostly from Kohl's share of profits on the Kohl's Card, whose accounts are owned by Capital One. Smaller pieces are advertising and gift-card breakage. Stores also serve as pickup and ship-from-store points for Kohls.com.

Nordstrom, Inc. business model: Nordstrom makes money by selling apparel, shoes, beauty, accessories, and home goods through two banners. The Nordstrom banner covers full-line department stores, Nordstrom Local service hubs, and Nordstrom.com, selling designer and premium brands at full price with services such as alterations and styling. Nordstrom Rack covers off-price stores and NordstromRack.com, selling mostly merchandise bought specifically for Rack at lower prices. Nordstrom also earns revenue from its credit card program with TD Bank and from its Nordy Club loyalty ecosystem. In FY2024, net sales were $14.557B and total revenues, including credit card revenue, were $15.016B.

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of Kohl's Corporation stack up against those of Nordstrom, Inc..

Kohl's Corporation competitive advantage: Most Kohl's stores are single-level boxes in strip and power centers, not in enclosed malls. Shoppers can park at the door, and the stores have avoided much of the mall traffic collapse that hurt Sears and JCPenney. Two other assets are hard to copy. One is the Sephora at Kohl's beauty shops, now in more than 1,100 stores. The other is a card-and-rewards loop, Kohl's Card plus Kohl's Cash, that ties promotions to repeat visits.

Nordstrom, Inc. competitive advantage: Nordstrom's advantage is a service reputation built over 125 years combined with a connected store, digital, and off-price network. Shoppers can buy online and pick up, return, or get alterations in stores, and Rack introduces younger, value-focused customers who often move to the full-price banner. Management says a good share of new Rack customers shop Nordstrom within three to four years. Family control also lets leadership invest for the long term without quarterly public reporting.

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. each plan to expand from here.

Kohl's Corporation growth strategy: Bender's plan is narrower than earlier turnarounds. It leans on value pricing and proprietary brands, a return of coupons the core customer likes, and categories that are growing such as Sephora beauty, toys, home and impulse gifting. It also relies on lower inventory and expenses. In Q2 2026, management said proprietary brands, Kohl's Card sales, home, toys and digital all improved. Kohl's is also restarting share repurchases now that its balance sheet is stronger.

Nordstrom, Inc. growth strategy: Nordstrom's growth plan has three parts. First, accelerate Nordstrom Rack, its largest source of new customers, with 22 openings in 2025 and a goal of up to 50 per year. Second, refine full-line store assortments, adding younger brands such as Princess Polly and planned 2026 additions such as NikeSkims and Hill House Home. Third, use real estate freed up by competitor bankruptcies, including Saks Global, where the right locations appear. Liverpool shares ideas on logistics and technology but the deal is not a merger, and the two retailers operate separately.

A closer look at the financial trajectory of Kohl's Corporation and Nordstrom, Inc. rounds out the comparison.

Kohl's Corporation: Kohl's revenue fell from a peak of about $20.2 billion in FY2018 to $15.5 billion in FY2025. Over that time, management cut inventory and reduced the dividend to $0.125 per quarter in 2025. It also refinanced debt at higher rates, including $360 million of 10.000% secured notes due 2030. FY2025 net income was $272 million, which included a $129 million interchange-lawsuit settlement gain. Results improved in 2026. In Q2 2026, ended August 1, net sales fell 0.9% to $3.3 billion, gross margin rose 305 basis points to 43.0%, and net income was $151 million ($1.28 per share). That quarter's margin got a boost from about $100 million of tariff refunds. Kohl's raised its FY2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $1.80-$2.40 and said it would restart share buybacks. Kohl's Corporation is a major American department store retail chain, sustaining a market valuation typically exceeding $3 billion amidst a shifting retail landscape.

Nordstrom, Inc.: Nordstrom's last public annual report covered FY2024 (ended February 1, 2025): total revenues of $15.016B, net sales of $14.557B, and net earnings of $294M, up from $134M in FY2023. Revenue peaked at $15.860B in FY2018, fell to $10.715B during the FY2020 pandemic year with a $690M loss, and has hovered around $15B since. Since going private in May 2025, Nordstrom no longer publishes quarterly results. Leadership told WWD in early 2026 that the company had less debt than a year earlier and had already repaid the debt taken on for the buyout using operating cash. Nordstrom, Inc. is a major American luxury department store chain, maintaining a market valuation generally exceeding $3 billion despite heavy shifts in the retail sector.