Kohl’s to close 18 stores

Kohl’s Corp. says it will close a small fraction of brick-and-mortar stores as it meets the needs of its online customers.

Kohl’s closure of 18 stores this year is a shift away from its aggressive expansion of stores in recent years across the country. CEO Kevin Mansell says the stores to be closed account to less than 1 percent of the company’s sales.

Kohl’s has not announced which stores will be involved. There are 11 stores located in the region from Butler County to Clark County.

The Wisconsin-based retail chain reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $296 million Thursday on net income of $1.58 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The department store operator posted revenue of $6.4 billion for the quarter.

— ASSOCIATED PRESS