(Bloomberg) — Kohl’s Corp. fired its chief executive officer after the board uncovered that he directed the retailer to do millions of dollars of business with someone he had a personal relationship with on “highly unusual terms.” The company said it’s starting a search to find a permanent replacement following the departure of Ashley Buchanan, who only started in January from running retailer Michaels Cos. Chairman Michael Bender will serve as interim CEO, according to a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Buchanan’s business dealings were with a woman he was involved with romantically named Chandra Holt, citing people familiar with the matter it didn’t identify. She’s a consultant and the founder of Incredibrew, which sells coffee infused with vitamins, according to the Journal. Kohl’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the details of Buchanan’s relationship. The CEO change is a “blow upon a bruise for the beleaguered department store chain,” Neil Saunders managing director at GlobalData, said in a research note. While it’s not related to performance, “it gives the impression that Kohl’s is in perpetual state of chaos and it raises some questions about the due diligence over his appointment.” The company also released preliminary results for its first quarter, including a comparable-sales decline in the range of 4% to 4.3% — less than what analyst had anticipated. Kohl’s also projected a net loss for the period that’s less than the average analyst estimate. Kohl’s shares rose as much as 9.9% in New York trading on Thursday. The stock has declined by about 50% so far this year, deeper than the decline of benchmark US stock indexes over the same period. ‘Unusual Terms’ The termination of Buchanan follows an outside investigation overseen by the board’s audit committee. The probe determined that Buchanan “had directed that the company conduct business with a vendor founded by an individual with whom Mr. Buchanan has a personal relationship on highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor.” Buchanan pushed the company to enter into a multimillion dollar consulting agreement wherein the same individual was a part of the consulting team, the board found. Kohl’s said that in neither case did Mr. Buchanan disclose this relationship as required under company’s code of ethics. The retailer said that Buchanan’s termination is unrelated to the company’s performance and did not involve any other company personnel. He’ll also be required to reimburse the firm $2.5 million from his signing bonus. The abrupt change adds more pressure to a retail business that’s struggled for years, posting 12 straight quarters of revenue declines. The company has lost market share as bigger competitors offer lower prices and a broader assortment of goods. 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Kohl’s has dismissed its CEO following an investigation that revealed personal connections between him and a vendor.
