Kohl’s was originally founded as a supermarket in 1946 by Maxwell Kohl. In 1962, he opened his first Kohl’s department store in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
In 1972, BATUS Inc. purchased a controlling share of Kohls.
In 1979, the Kohl family stopped managing the company.
In 1983, the grocery stores were sold to A&P. All the stores were subsequently closed in 2003.
In 1986, a group of investors, which included upper management, purchased the chain.
In 1992, the company went public. In 1997, the company entered the Mid-Atlantic markets and expansion continued throughout the 2000s. Kohl’s had revenue in 2013 of $19.279 million, and more than 140,000 full-time employees.
The company currently operates over 1,000 stores in 49 states (none in Hawaii). The Kohl’s corporate office is located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.