Kohl’s rises after CEO is fired over ethics investigation

Kohl’s fired its CEO, Ashley Buchanan, after less than six months on the job because an investigation found he steered the company toward making lucrative deals with a vendor that he had personal ties with.

An investigation found that Buchanan guided the company toward a deal “on highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor” and then later led the company to enter a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement with the same person, the company said Thursday in a regulatory filing. Buchanan didn’t disclose the relationship, as required under its ethics code, the company said.

Buchanan started the job on January 15. By then, the company had experienced 12 straight quarters of same-store sales decline. In his first and only earnings call in March, Buchanan told analysts Kohl’s needed to be leaner and more efficient.

“Simply put, we will work to create a more efficient organization that will focus on reducing cost to allow us to invest in our future growth,” Buchanan said. “We know that part of setting up the business for future success is to have a high level of discipline on managing costs.”

Since Buchanan’s first day on the job, the company’s stock has fallen more than 40% as the retailer deals with macroeconomic headwinds, trade uncertainty — and, apparently, really high vendor fees. The stock rose more than 5% after he was fired.