Kohl’s Corp. Hires Starbucks Marketing Executive Michelle Gass

Kohl’s Corp. has hired Starbucks’ Michelle Gass, the executive responsible for developing the then new Frappuccino into a $2 billion a year business that makes up one fifth of Starbucks sales.

The move is part of Kohl’s strategy to recapture the growth it enjoyed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. "We probably got a little complacent and I think there was too much sameness," said chairman, CEO and President Kevin Mansell in an interview last week.  A difficult Christmas selling season in 2011, followed by inventory problems the following spring — Kohl's missed big on colored denim, for example — reinforced the need for change.

"We completely re-invented our merchandising leadership — our buying, our planning and our product development," Mansell said. "We completely re-engineered our information technology area with new leaders."

As "chief customer officer," Gass will oversee the critical marketing function, the company's rapidly growing e-commerce business and what retailers have taken to calling the "omni-channel" approach — a blending of Internet and brick-and-mortar shopping.

"She knows the Kohl's brand," Mansell said. "She's a mom. She understands the store. She understands the brand. She understands the challenge. She's executed something similar to what we need to do here."