Kohl’s Posts Above-Average Holiday Sales

Kohl's Corp.'s (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) revamped business strategy is apparently paying off, as the retailer's same-store holiday sales outperformed its bigger rivals, JCPenney (Plano, Texas) and Macy's (Cincinnati).

The retailer's shares rose almost 9 percent to $59.07 on Monday after it reported a 6.9 percent rise in same-store sales for November and December, making this holiday season its best in three years, reports Reuters. The success is credited to its decision to bolster its stand-alone department stores rather than its shopping mall locations, as well as a revamp of its beauty departments, increasing space for Under Armour (Baltimore) products and partnering with Amazon.com Inc. (Seattle) to sell smart-home products.

Research firm Retail Metrics noted its mix of private label and national brand offerings as another reason the retailer was one of the busiest chains this past holiday shopping season.