Kansas City’s Halls store plans big changes in 2021. What’s going away, what’s coming

Halls, Kansas City’s homegrown luxury department store, is getting a makeover with changes both in store layout and offerings.

Based on customer input, Halls plans to eliminate its home decor and cosmetics departments, most of its designer jewelry lines, and its H Bar cafe.

It will add new brands in women’s and men’s apparel and accessories to include more high-quality items unique to the Kansas City market.

Customers will see a broader assortment of its current brands in the spring and new brands will be introduced in the fall.

“We have been looking at what customers are buying, what they are requesting,” said Kelly Cole, president and CEO of Halls. “Our customer is very vocal and we love that. They give us their opinion because they expect us to be the style destination in our city.”

In early 2021, Halls will temporarily move to another Crown Center space for six to eight weeks as it reconfigures the store. It will reopen in its permanent space in early March.

“All of our amenities — the gift wrap, our spacious luxurious fitting rooms, alterations, curbside pickup — will remain in place,” Cole said.

There will be some employee reductions but Halls isn’t saying how many positions will be eliminated.

In June 2013, Halls announced plans to close its Country Club Plaza store and consolidate at Crown Center, saying it no longer made economic sense to operate two Halls stores within about 20 blocks.

It temporarily closed the Crown Center store in February 2014 for a significant renovation, taking over much of the third floor of the Crown Center Shops with an in-store cafe and bar, and other amenities.

The store, at 2450 Grand Blvd., reopened in September 2014.

The latest changes were in the works before the pandemic but the crisis has contributed to the H Bar closing.

“Just because of the pandemic it has made it more difficult with all the restrictions. So we are not going to go forward with H Bar,” Cole said. “In any business, not just Halls, to stay relevant you have to be nimble and evolve.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 1:57 PM.