Kohls jewelry store closes amid ‘sickening’ incident
Kohls has announced it will close all of its jewelry stores in the United States after a “sickened and heart-wrenching” incident at a Kohls flagship store in Virginia.
The store is located in the Richmond, Virginia, suburb of Henrico, according to a news release.
The Virginia store is the third in the country to close in recent months after stores in New York and Boston were also targeted.
“We are extremely saddened by the tragic events that took place today in Henricos Jewelry store, which we will be forever thankful for,” said Kohls president and chief operating officer Steve Kohlman.
“At this point in time, we are working to restore the shop to its previous glory.
However, we will not be able to do so without the support of our loyal customers and partners, including our partners in the Kohl’s family of stores, as well as our loyal community of fans.”
The news comes after the National Jewelers Association announced that Kohls would be joining forces with the National Retail Federation, a national trade group, to create a national commission to address retail and consumer protection issues in the retail industry.
“The industry is in crisis,” said NRA president and CEO Chris W. Cox.
“More and more consumers are losing confidence in retailers and retailers are losing faith in their ability to protect consumers.
Consumers don’t trust the retailers anymore, and that is a critical problem.”
The announcement came on the heels of the NRA announcing a series of recommendations to address the problem of retail and industry corruption, including requiring a minimum $15 minimum wage and a mandatory minimum of $10 minimum credit card payments.
The retail industry has been plagued by a growing number of allegations of corporate corruption, fraud and misconduct.
Kohls, which was founded in New Jersey in 1973, is one of the country’s largest retail chains.