Kohl's closing 27 stores by April; no store in our area affected

Kohl’s said Friday that they would be closing 27 underperforming locations in 15 states by April — a fraction of its 1,150 store base — as the struggling department store chain aims to boost profitability and improve sagging sales.

The announcement comes as the Wisconsin-based chain has posted 11 consecutive quarters of sales declines. Michaels CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan is set to take over as the chief executive of Kohl’s next week.

Ten of the stores announced for closing are in California. Other locations are in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, the Chicago suburbs of Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

Local Kohl's stores unaffected by the announcement include Paducah, Carbondale, Cape Girardeau and Clarksville.