Kohl’s zeroes in on Nike for back-to-school marketing
Nike is arguably the star student of Kohl’s back-to-school efforts.
While other brands like Levi’s and Tek Gear are featured in Kohl’s latest campaign — which is titled “We Are So Back (To School)” — Nike is front and center when it comes to merchandising and marketing. This summer and fall, Kohl’s is creating a “really strong Nike presence” in stores by expanding its assortment and showing off full-outfit styling, said Nick Jones, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer. Kohl’s is also creating Nike-themed tunnel walks in its stores, in line with the cultural rise of “tunnel fits.”
“On the brand side, we are leaning heavily into the brands that kids are most excited about, leading with Nike,” Christie Raymond, Kohl’s chief marketing officer, said Wednesday on a call with members of the media. “This is a brand that is continuing to resonate strongly with Gen Alpha and teen shoppers. It’s one of their top brands, … so we think it is a very relevant place for us to focus on.” Nike was ranked the No. 1 clothing and footwear brand among teenagers in Piper Sandler’s 2025 Teen Survey.
For the back-to-school season, Kohl’s executives promoted the fact that the retailer is selling thousands of products under $25. Jones mentioned that Kohl’s is “uniquely positioned to deliver more value on great national brands” and highlighted Nike as a “back-to-school must-have.” Online, the hero image for the back-to-school webpage features a pair of Nike sneakers. More than 300 products are tagged as “Nike school,” including a $15 girls’ tee and $45 boys’ joggers.
One of Kohl’s media spots for its back-to-school campaign also shows a group of students wearing Nike clothing, footwear and backpacks. The spot features actress and Kohl’s ambassador Ellie Kemper, who stars as “Kohl’s Mom.”
Kohl’s isn’t the only retailer to invest more in Nike. While Nike initially slashed a number of retail partners to better focus on DTC, it’s now trying to boost its wholesale business — and thus, its sales. In the last couple of years, Nike has resumed relationships with DSW, Macy’s and Amazon. On June 30, Nike reported that its wholesale revenues for the fourth quarter were $6.6 billion, up 4% on a reported basis. “We’ve been rebuilding our wholesale relationships, expanding our outreach and improving how we show up across channels,” Nike CEO Elliott Hill said on a June 30 earnings call.
Even as Kohl’s invests more in Nike, it’s developing its in-house brands, too, executives stressed. These include Jumping Beans, LC Lauren Conrad and FLX. On Wednesday’s call, Jones said Kohl’s has made “significant investment in our proprietary brands to deliver more value for our customers.” He continued, “We’ve expanded the assortments, we’ve got stronger presentations, we’ve got much clearer brand positioning, and we’re really, really focused on making sure the customers can understand exactly what each brand stands for.”