• by Sarah Mahoney , March 2, 2026

Kohl’s is launching “By Kohl’s,” a new marketing campaign aimed at reacquainting shoppers with its extensive offering of private-label fashion. The effort is using broadcast, social and digital support, and in-store marketing to reinforce the identity of those brands, which include FLX, an athleisure line, LC Lauren Conrad in women’s apparel, and home goods with Miryana, all under one cohesive platform. 

Actor Ellie Kemper continues in her role as Kohl’s Mom, and the retailer is also introducing Mama Kohl’s, a new Spanish-language character. Dylan Efron, known for appearances on “The Traitors” and “Dancing With the Stars,” also appears in some of the ads.

The new campaign “is about giving the proprietary brands we’ve created for our customers a stronger voice and greater visibility,” said CMO Christie Raymond in the announcement. “We want shoppers to have confidence in choosing these brands, because they understand what they offer: style they love, quality they can trust, and value that fits their lives.”

Online executions underscore each brand’s distinct attributes, “like reinforced knees on Jumping Beans kids’ pants or the thoughtful design of an LC Lauren Conrad dress,” she adds.

The new ads break as the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based company is scrambling to regain relevance with American shoppers, following 10 years of share erosion, declining sales and management turnover. The company believes that store brands, offering comparable styles at a better price, are the key to finding its way back into the hearts of mid-income shoppers.

“Our focus in recent years has been around attracting a new customer, which unintentionally led to not fully catering to our core loyal customers’ needs,” said Michael Bender, Kohl’s CEO, in its latest earnings call. “Each quarter this year, we have made meaningful improvements to our assortment offerings, which have translated to an improvement in transactions, particularly from our core customers.” Women’s apparel, for example, improved significantly, “led by positive performance in our proprietary brands, which heavily penetrate into our women’s business.

Analysts are skeptical of Kohl’s comeback potential, despite its reputation for reasonable prices, off-mall locations, more than 30 million loyalty members and ecommerce gains. Kohl’s is “still a physical store-based business, and both store visitation and sales per square foot have declined steadily over the past 15 years,” writes David Swartz, who follows the company for Morningstar. “We believe Kohl’s large fleet of big-box stores is unnecessary in an increasingly fragmented market.”