Kohl's 2008 Annual Report Download - page 7

Any amendment to or waiver from the provisions of the Code of Ethics that is applicable to our Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or other key finance associates will be disclosed on the “Corporate
Governance” portion of the website.
Information contained on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The materials listed
above will be provided without charge to any shareholder submitting a written request to our Investor Relations
Department at N56 W17000 Ridgewood Drive, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051 or via e-mail to
[email protected].
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Forward Looking Statements
Items 1, 1A, 3, 5, 7 and 7A of this Form 10-K contain “forward-looking statements,” made within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believes,” “anticipates,”
“plans,” “may,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-
looking statements. In addition, statements covering our future sales or financial performance and our plans,
performance and other objectives, expectations or intentions are forward-looking statements, such as statements
regarding our liquidity, debt service requirements, planned capital expenditures, future store openings and
adequacy of capital resources and reserves. There are a number of important factors that could cause our results
to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements, including among others, those risk
factors described below. Forward-looking statements relate to the date made, and we undertake no obligations to
update them.
Declines in general economic conditions, consumer spending levels and other conditions could lead to
reduced consumer demand for our merchandise and cause reductions in our sales and/or gross margin.
Consumer spending habits, including spending for the merchandise that we sell, are affected by, among
other things, prevailing economic conditions, levels of employment, salaries and wage rates, prevailing interest
rates, housing costs, energy costs, income tax rates and policies, consumer confidence and consumer perception
of economic conditions. In addition, consumer purchasing patterns may be influenced by consumers’ disposable
income, credit availability and debt levels.
The recent economic slowdown has caused disruptions and significant volatility in financial markets,
increased rates of default and bankruptcy and declining consumer and business confidence, which has led to
decreased levels of consumer spending, particularly on discretionary items. A continued or incremental
slowdown in the United States economy and the uncertain economic outlook could continue to adversely affect
consumer spending habits resulting in lower net sales and profits than expected.
Consumer confidence is also affected by the domestic and international political situation. The outbreak or
escalation of war, or the occurrence of terrorist acts or other hostilities in or affecting the United States, could
lead to a decrease in spending by consumers.
Actions by our competitors could adversely affect our operating results.
The retail business is highly competitive. We compete for customers, associates, locations, merchandise,
services and other important aspects of our business with many other local, regional and national retailers. Those
competitors, some of which have a greater market presence than Kohl’s, include traditional store-based retailers,
internet and catalog businesses and other forms of retail commerce. Unanticipated changes in the pricing and
other practices of those competitors may adversely affect our performance.
If we do not offer merchandise our customers want and fail to successfully manage our inventory levels, our
sales and/or gross margin may be adversely impacted.
Our business is dependent on our ability to anticipate fluctuations in consumer demand for a wide variety of
merchandise. Failure to accurately predict constantly changing consumer tastes, preferences, spending patterns
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