Kohl's Now Ending a Key Partnership, Are MN Stores Affected?

Kohl's stores just announced that it was ending a partnership that has been in place for over seven years. But will Kohl's locations in Minnesota be affected?

It's no secret that these are tough times for the traditional brick-and-mortar retail stores. Many once-profitable brands, like Sears and J.C. Penney, have had difficulties keeping their retail stores open and have faced bankruptcy. Even the storied Macy's brand announced earlier this year that it would be closing 66 stores across the country.

And it was just back in January that Wisconsin-based Kohl's said it would also be shutting the doors permanently at 27 different locations later this spring. A release from the Kohl's Corporation, which opened its first store in Brookfield, Wisconsin in 1962, said the stores marked for closing have all been 'underperforming,' and will be shuttered by April of 2025.

SEE ALSO: Check Out How Much Minnesota Grocery Costs Have Increased Since 2020

Luckily, none of its Minnesota stores were among those set to close. But will any of its stores here in the Bold North be affected by this new change Kohl's is making?

According to its website, Kohl's says its department stores in Minnesota 'are stocked with everything you need for yourself and your home - apparel, shoes & accessories for women, children, and men, plus home products like small electrics, bedding, luggage and more,' it noted.

A Kohl's location in Eagan, Minnesota. (Google Street View)

Kohl's currently operates around 1,150 stores across the country, including 29 locations here in the North Star State. You can find a Kohl's store in the following Minnesota cities:

Alexandria
Apple Valley
Baxter
Bemidji
Blaine
Bloomington
Burnsville
Cambridge
Chaska
Coon Rapids
Cottage Grove
Duluth
Eagan
Eden Prairie
Lino Lakes
Mankato
Maple Grove
Maplewood
Oak Park Heights
Owatonna
Plymouth
Rochester
Rogers
Roseville
Shakopee
St Louis Park
Waite Park
Willmar
Woodbury

Now, though, the big change Kohl's is apparently making will end a partnership it first unveiled back in 2017: Accepting Amazon returns. A story in The Street noted that Kohl's first started its agreement with Amazon as a way to increase customers at its store locations. It expanded that service to nearly every store location across the country in 2019.

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But it could soon be going away. The Street said that Kohl's associates in three locations in Leominster, Massachusetts; Washington, Missouri; and Eau Claire, Wisconsin have confirmed that their stores are no longer accepting Amazon returns.

However, The Street also quotes a Kohl's spokesperson who said the change is just a test-- at least, right now:

"To continue to learn from our customers, we are conducting a test in a handful of our stores where we will be temporarily discontinuing the third-party returns service,” the Kohl’s spokesperson said in The Street.

I've used the Amazon return service at Kohl's many times and found it to be a very handy way to return items that either didn't fit or weren't what I was expecting. I hope they don't expand that change to its stores here in Minnesota!

Speaking of tests, do you think you could pass the written test needed to get your driver's permit here in Minnesota? Keep scrolling to check out a sample test and see you well you do!