ORLANDO-Kohl's Corp., a 43-year-old Wisconsin-based department store chain with 731 stores in 41 states, will enter the Florida market Oct. 6 with 10 leased locations averaging 88,000 sf per store or a total 880,000 sf.

The estimated annual rent of the 10 stores is $8.8 million, based on an effective rate of $10 per sf, area brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com. Kohl officials say they will employ about 150 persons at each store.

Six stores will be located in Central Florida, specifically in: suburban Altamonte Springs, east Orange County at the Waterford Lakes mixed-use community, south Orange County at the Hunter's Creek mixed-use project, Clermont, Orange City in Volusia County and Viera in Brevard County. Three stores will open in Jacksonville and one in Lakeland.

Area retail brokers intimate with Kohl's expansion tell GlobeSt.com the retailer plans to open 500 new stores over the next five years in various metro locations throughout the US. The company was founded by the Kohl family in 1962 and went public in 1992. Kohl's did $11.7 billion in 2004 sales.