Kohl’s is not just your destination for inexpensive clothing and household items, it’s soon to become the go-to spot for rather expensive wearables. As Fortune reported Thursday, Kohl’s and Apple have now partnered to sell the Apple Watch at 400 of its 1,100 stores beginning November 15. So be careful, budget buyers: You may get closer to breaking the bank with this new offering.
Just a few weeks ago, Kohl’s competitor Macy’s made a similar announcement, introducing plans to not only open an Apple store in its famous 1 million square-foot flagship store in New York’s Herald Square, but also to sell the Apple Watch in more than 180 other retail locations. Whereas Macy’s will place the device in its electronic section, Kohl’s plans on marketing the wearable alongside its activewear and wellness products.
“We’re not launching it as an electronics partner,” Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief merchandising and customer officer, told Fortune. “We were positioning this as an active and wellness device.” Ten different kinds of Apple Watches will be made available at Kohl’s, and both brands hope that the new product offering will boost sales.
For the department store, the introduction of a high-end, high-tech product may aid in comparable sales numbers, which are currently down 2.8 percent thus far this year. But with holiday season fast approaching, there’s still time to turn things around. As for Apple, the availability of its signature wearable in such an accessible store may make the watch seem a bit more approachable. As Fortune reports, “For Apple, the Kohl’s partnership is a way to add hundreds more distribution points beyond the city centers that typically house Apple stores, and reach a more modest-income shopper and a wider-ranging clientele.”
So if you’re planning on getting someone an Apple Watch sometime in the next couple months, you don’t have to find your nearest Apple Store. Just your nearest Kohl’s.
