Kohl’s temporarily closed all its stores across the country on Thursday evening (March 19), the company announced.
That includes the store at 2150 Michigan Ave. in Arnold and the store at 115 Gravois Bluffs Plaza Drive in Fenton.
“To demonstrate our support of the efforts underway to contain the spread of the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19), we are closing all Kohl’s stores through at least April 1,” Kohl’s chief executive officer Michelle Gass said in a written statement. “We will support store associates with two calendar weeks’ of pay.
“We will continue to serve customers on Kohls.com and our Kohl’s app, and we look forward to reopening our stores soon to serve families across the country.”
The company said it will provide updates about the status of its stores on its website, Corporate.Kohls.com.
Arnold City Administrator Bryan Richison said the city is expecting its sales tax revenue to suffer as stores, like Kohl’s, and other merchants decide to close or to cut back operations during the pandemic.
“I have to expect it will have an impact, but I don’t know what that will be” Richison said today (March 20). “What I’m telling the (City Council), mayor and staff is this in unprecedented. I don’t think anybody in our lifetimes has had to deal with anything like this, and we are all doing the best we can. There is just more that we don’t know than we do know.”
The Kohl’s closure follows an announcement early this month from Stage Stores that it will close several Gordmans stores in the St. Louis area, including the one at 235 Arnold Crossroads Center in Arnold and the one at 687 Gravois Bluffs Blvd. in Fenton. However, the company will continue operating the store at 110 Twin City Drive in Crystal City.
The company has not said when the Arnold and Fenton stores will close. As of this afternoon (March 20), the Arnold store’s website listed it as open.
When Stage Stores announced its plan to close the stores, it said the decision was a financial one.
“As is common practice in the retail industry, Stage Stores reviews its store fleet on a regular basis to ensure we remain competitive and best positioned to provide options to our guests,” the company said in an email.
