The retailer Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) announced that its board of directors terminated the employment of Ashley Buchanan as CEO.
In a statement, Kohl’s declared that Buchanan “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest, which the board determined to be cause. Mr. Buchanan’s termination is unrelated to the company’s performance, financial reporting, results of operations and did not involve any other company personnel.”
Buchanan joined Kohl’s in January after serving as CEO of Michaels Companies. Board Chairman Michael Bender was named interim CEO while the company hires a search firm for Buchanan’s replacement.
Kohl’s has been plagued with declining sales, and in January it announced the shuttering of 27 underperforming stores and layoffs of 10% of its corporate workforce. The company’s fourth quarter sales were down by 9% to $5.2 billion.
Photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons
