Department Stores Must Do More Than Just Survive

If you were looking for a clear signal about how department stores are faring in the current retail environment, you didn't get it from their latest batch of earnings results. Kohl's Corp. on Tuesday reported that comparable sales rose 3.6 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, thanks to strength in categories such as activewear and home goods. Coupled with results from Macy's Inc. last week that blew the doors off analysts' expectations, you could convince yourself that this format isn't doomed after all.