Kohl’s Corp. is continuing to invest in private label brands, a strategy central to the retailer’s turnaround efforts.

On Monday, Kohl’s expanded the FLX activewear and athleisure collection to target kids and pre-teens, both online and in 300 of the retailer’s stores.

More Kohl’s stores will carry FLX for kids and pre-teens next year, and it’s likely Kohl’s further expands its portfolio of private brands in the near future. Progress in proprietary brands across women’s, petites, activewear as well as kids, is critical for Kohl’s since they can provide greater value for shoppers, better margins and a point of differentiation. Kohl’s portfolio of private brands includes Sonoma, Simply Vera Vera Wang and LC Lauren Conrad as well as FLX.

Kohl’s executives on Monday emphasized that FLX for kids and pre-teens has been designed with soft, breathable materials for comfort and ease of movement, as well as for function, style and value. The initial FLX kids assortment offers “everyday” silhouettes, joggers, zip-ups, hoodies and performance T-shirts. Kohl’s first launched FLX for adults in 2021. Prices range $14.99 up to $50. Boys sizes range from 8 to 20; girls sizes range from 7 to 16.

“We are excited to expand our successful FLX brand into the kids category this fall, addressing a white space in our active and athleisure offerings for younger generations,” said Nick Jones, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer, in a statement. He said the new assortment “underscores our continued work to elevate proprietary brands.”

Emmy Jean Woodhall, Kohl’s creative design director, added: “We’re very aware of how style evolves rapidly, especially for kids entering their tween years. That age group is forming identity and gravitating toward looks that feel more grown-up, but still playful. We’ve designed FLX apparel for kids to reflect that shift — adjusting silhouettes, proportions and colorways to deliver something that feels modern and expressive, without being too mature. It’s a fine balance, and one that this assortment nails.”

During his second-quarter earnings conference call last August, Michael Bender, Kohl’s interim chief executive officer, said, “The first action we are taking to deliver more value to our customers is by elevating our proprietary brands.”

He said they offer “quality products at lower opening prices points, and that customers who buy proprietary brands spend more of their wallet with Kohl’s. He cited strong performances with Tek Gear, Simply Vera Vera Wang, Lauren Conrad and FLX. “We will continue to explore opportunities to introduce new proprietary brands that serve a clear purpose for our customers while driving productivity across our merchandise portfolio.”

Through the back half of 2025, proprietary brands is “one of the biggest areas that we’ll be focused on,” Bender said.

Added Jill Timm, Kohl’s chief financial officer, during the August call: “We’re leveraging the core brands that are meaningful to our customers. We’re utilizing them as opening price point brands to bring in value, and we’re curating a great assortment through basics and fashion really on a relevant pyramid, which we had kind of lost some focus on.”

In addition to private brands, Kohl’s turnaround strategy involves putting a strong focus on petites, fashion and fine jewelry, opening price points, impulse items, re-instituting coupons on certain brands, and Sephora.

There are signs the initiatives are starting to bear fruit. For its second quarter, Kohl’s reported margin gains, expense reductions and merchandise improvements, and lifted its profit forecast for 2025. There were sales declines, though not as bad as expected. Adjusted net income last quarter slipped to $64 million from $66 million.