Fairfield Kohl's To Close In October

FAIRFIELD, CT — After many years in business, the Fairfield Kohl’s store will soon close.

The location at 290 Tunxis Hill Road is expected to cease operations Oct. 17, according to the Kohl’s website and spokesman Weston Banker.

“We look forward to continuing to serve the community at our nearby stores including Trumbull, Conn. (100 Hawley Ln.) and Norwalk, Conn. (500 Connecticut Ave.) as well as on Kohls.com,” Banker said in an email.

Employees of the Fairfield store have been given the option of continuing to work for Kohl’s at other area locations, according to Banker, who did not provide additional information about the circumstances of the closure, or closing sales.

The roughly 100,000-square-foot property where Kohl’s is located was part of a three-parcel sale in 2019, which also included a car wash on Villa Avenue and a parking lot on Greenfield Street. Together, the properties sold to Tunxis Associates LLC for $12.5 million.

Kohl’s has occupied the Tunxis Hill Road building for about 20 years. Before that, the site was home to retailers Caldor and Arlan’s, as well as a Pathmark Food Store.

Like many companies, Kohl’s Corp. has struggled amid the coronavirus pandemic, with net sales and total revenue for the first six months of 2020 both down by about 30 percent year-over-year, according to a company news release dated Aug. 18.

“Our organization continues to navigate through a period of extraordinary change and uncertainty presented by the COVID-19 crisis,” CEO Michelle Gass said in the news release, adding the company had reopened all its stores with new safety procedures after widespread closures due to the virus, while also accelerating digital growth.

Kohl’s on Monday announced a redesign of its website. In a news release, the company said investing in a better digital experience for customers, “has been critically important as even more customers have chosen to shop with us online.”