Kohl's 2004 Annual Report Download - page 12

TO OUR ASSOCIATES: expect great things is a
commitment to provide a work environment that inspires,
supports and rewards extraordinary Associates.
Everything our Associates do, from buying quality merchandise
and negotiating competitive prices to effectively advertising
and selling these products to our customers, requires an
outstanding team. Every day, in every location, Kohl’s
Associates are the great people behind our growth and success.
SUPPORTING OUR ASSOCIATES Associates like joining the
Kohl’s team because of opportunities for growth at every level
in the organization. As we continue to grow, our store management
bench strength continues to deepen. The focus on management
development efforts across our organization enables us to
attract and retain the people who drive our success.
In 2004, we introduced Kohl’s University to our Associates. With
“Kohl’s U” in place, we’ve further expanded our array of courses
that educate and develop the capabilities of our Associates.
Associates can select classroom or computer-based training
offerings depending upon the way they prefer to learn. All of
our courses are related to our strategic management
competencies, focusing our development efforts on the key
drivers of business effectiveness for today and tomorrow.
STRENGTHENING OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM In 2004, we
identified merchandising as an area we needed to strengthen in
order to deliver exciting merchandise to every market we serve.
We created the position of executive vice president – product
development to support our exclusive and private
brand initiatives and provide trend direction to
the entire organization. We reorganized our
planning and allocation team and promoted
our chief information officer to executive vice
president of planning and allocation to bring
his systems analysis expertise to the team. We
promoted three executives into newly created
senior vice president positions that support planning and
allocation. Seasoned retail executives were also added to the
merchandise team. We increased our general merchandise
manager positions from two to three and increased our number
of department merchandise managers from eight to 11.
REWARDING OUR ASSOCIATES Kohl’s growth provides
numerous opportunities for our Associates. In 2004, we
added 15,000 new Associates, bringing the total number
of Kohl’s Associates to over 100,000. Our college recruitment
program on 45 campuses continues to bring talented
graduates into our store and corporate training programs.
To reward and retain outstanding Associates, we offer
competitive benefit packages. In 2004, we added an
Employee Assistance Program to our benefits program
to provide Associates with work-life support, and began
offering a drug discount card for part-time Associates. In
2004, Associates in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan
owned more than two million shares of Kohl’s stock,
continuing to make this one of our most significant benefits.
Kohl’s executive vice presidents and their areas
of responsibility are (from left):
Ken Bonning, logistics;
John Lesko, administration;
Wes McDonald, chief financial officer;
Don Brennan, general merchandise manager;
Rick Schepp, general counsel and secretary;
Jon Nordeen, planning and allocation;
Peggy Eskenasi, product development;
Gary Vasques, marketing;
Chris Capuano, general merchandise manager; and
Telvin Jeffries, human resources.
Expect Great T hings: Associates
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