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Kohl’s new CEO is making double the retailer’s previous chief executive, even though the company is struggling to make up for past mistakes. Ashley Buchanan, the new CEO, landed a pay package totaling about $20 million, while Tom Kingsbury made about $9 million. The company also recently announced store closures and layoffs.
Kohl’s is having a tumultuous year, but its new CEO is raking in the big bucks.
Ashley Buchanan, who became CEO of Kohl’s in January, landed an executive pay package totaling about $20 million, which is more than double that of the retailer’s previous chief executive Tom Kingsbury. His pay package totaled about $9 million.
Buchanan’s base salary is $1.475 million, and he earned a $3.75 million signing bonus, according to an SEC filing dated Nov. 22, 2024. His employment contract also includes a one-time payment of $2 million of restricted stock that he can collect after one year with the company; a one-time $15 million payment of restricted stock units that can be paid out evenly after the first, second, and third anniversary with the company; and an annual long-term equity incentive award target of at least $9 million, with eligibility for annual equity awards starting this year.
The new CEO also gets an annual car allowance of $21,600, personal use of company aircraft totaling up to $180,000 per year, legal fee reimbursements of up to $25,000, an annual health care package worth up to $50,000, and personal financial advisory services worth up to $10,000 per year.
“The one-time recruitment awards, including the signing incentive and [restricted stock unit] awards, were granted as part of the overall package to incentivize Mr. Buchanan to accept the CEO role,” according to the company’s proxy statement.
Kohl’s didn’t respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Buchanan previously served as CEO of The Michaels Companies and as chief merchandising and chief operating officer of Walmart’s e-commerce business. When he became CEO of the Michaels Companies in 2019, he made a $1.2 million base salary and signing bonus of almost $3.7 million, which covers certain Walmart bonuses he forfeited by leaving, a CNBC report shows.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s performance has been lackluster. In March, the retailer reported a 9.4% drop in fourth-quarter net sales, cut its dividend, and changed its guidance for a 5%-to-7% sales decline in 2025. This was even worse than Wall Street had projected. Analysts polled by market analysis firm FactSet had projected a comparable sales decline of less than 1% for the year.
Earlier this year, Kohl’s also held corporate layoffs just weeks after announcing store closures for 27 locations. At the time of the layoffs, Jen Johnson, SVP of corporate communications at Kohl’s, previously told Fortune these decisions were taken “very seriously” and were done to “support our commitments to increase efficiencies and improve profitability in the business for the long-term benefit of our associates and customers.”