Kohl’s recently reported that comparable sales were up 2.5% in the third quarter, while Burlington reported last week that comparable sales were up 4.4% in the third quarter.
While Burlington has 679 stores in the United States, Kohl’s has more than 1,100.
Both stores are benefiting from a disappearing middle class and a higher demand for budget options — two factors that have been hurting traditional department stores. In addition, because most Kohl’s stores are located in suburban strip malls rather than shopping malls, it’s less likely to be affected by the declining foot traffic that has hurt malls and the retailers that depend on them.
Even though Kohl’s is a department store and Burlington is an off-price retailer, upon visiting the two stores we found that they were similar in many ways — the styles and quality of the products were nearly identical, and both offered recognizable brands for low prices.
But one store was better than the other for a key reason: