Mid-level department store chain Kohl’s will begin selling the Apple Watch at 400 of its 1,000 United States locations on November 15. The move is seen as a way to boost the company’s activewear business.
The partnership should also help Apple reach places in the country that don’t have either Apple Stores, or authorized Apple resellers to sell the Apple Watch. Plus, it should help the device become more exposed, in order to “reach a more modest-income shopper and a wider-ranging clientele.”
The announcement comes just a few weeks after Macy’s said it would sell the watch within Apple boutiques at 180 of its stores. But in one key difference, Kohl’s will place the watches in its activewear and wellness sections, rather than with other electronics. At the Macy’s flagship in Manhattan, the Apple boutique is located near the watch area but also sells other tech devices such as iPhones and laptops.
Kohl’s stores will stock ten different models of the Apple Watch, but the company hasn’t as yet announced which specific models it will carry. MacRumors notes in the retailer’s Black Friday ad, the Apple Watch Series 2 in Space Gray with Black Sport band and Series 1 in Rose Gold with Pink Sand Sport Band are both advertised.
The Apple Watches will be on display in four foot tall stands, and will be attended to by Kohl’s staff that has been educated on the device, and who will help the customers in selecting and purchasing a Watch. Kohl’s is approaching the device as more of an active and wellness device, rather than an electronic device.
“We’re not launching it as an electronics partner,” Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief merchandising and customer officer, told Fortune in an exclusive interview at the retailer’s design center in New York City. “We were positioning this as an active and wellness device.”
Kohl’s customers visiting the stores on Black Friday will receive Kohl’s Cash when purchasing an Apple Watch. They’ll receive $105 for a Series 2 and $75 for a Series 1. Kohl’s is said to be hoping the Apple Watch goes over as well as FitBit devices have in their stores, which has turned into a $100 million dollar a year business for the retail chain.
