Lands' End

History

Lands' End began as a mail-order yachting supply company in 1963 in Chicago. It was founded by Gary Comer, along with his partners, 1963 Pan American Games gold medalist sailors Richard Stearns and Robert Halperin, and two of Stearns' employees.

In 1978, it expanded into general clothing and home furnishings, and moved to Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

In October 1986, it became a public company via an initial public offering.

In the late 1980s, Lands' End was the jersey supplier of the United States national rugby union team.

In July 1995, the company launched its website, Landsend.com.

In 2002, Sears, Roebuck and Company acquired the company for $2 billion in cash. Sears offered products by Lands' End in many of its retail stores, until 2019.

In November 2009, Lands' End launched Lands' End Canvas, which offered a more fashion-oriented selection of casual clothing for men and women. It was discontinued in 2013. The line was reintroduced in 2016 but cancelled in 2017 by the new CEO.

In 2013, the company partnered with Borderfree to display international orders in local currency.

The company began selling on Debenhams and in 2014, in its first international partnership, in House of Fraser.

In April 2014, Sears completed the corporate spin-off of the company, which once again became publicly traded.

Jerome Griffith became CEO in March 2017, succeeding Federica Marchionni.

In 2018, the company began selling on Amazon.com.

In 2018 and 2019, the company produced uniforms for employees of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

In 2019, Lands' End closed its remaining store-within-a-store branches in Sears stores, after Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In 2020, the company entered into a partnership with Kohl's to sell the company's products in its stores.

In 2021, the company partnered with QVC to sell its products on its website, expanded to video sales in April 2022.

In fiscal 2023, 63.2% of its revenue was from online retail orders in the U.S., 7.7% of revenue was international orders, 18.3% of revenue was sales of logo apparel to businesses and schools, 7.6% of revenue was received from third-party sellers, and 3.2% of revenue was from company-operated stores.

In January 2026, Lands End agreed to form a joint venture with WHP Global. Lands End gets $300 million in cash and will contribute all of its intellectual property in exchange for royalty payments. Upon closing, the joint venture will be owned evenly between the two companies.

Awards and recognition

In 1998, Lands' End was named among The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America by Fortune magazine.

Controversies

In 2016, feminist activist Gloria Steinem was featured in the catalog of Lands' End. After an outcry from anti-abortion customers, the company removed Steinem from its website. The company then faced further criticism, this time both from customers who were still unhappy that Steinem had been featured in the first place, and customers who were unhappy that Steinem had been removed.

References

References

1. (April 3, 2024). "Lands' End, Inc. 2023 Form 10-K Annual Report". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
2. "Lands' End". Robert Halperin.
3. Kapner, Suzanne. (October 30, 2013). "Sears Weighs A Spinoff of Lands' End; Core Chains' Losses Grow". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
4. (May 7, 2015). "Lands' End CEO: From supercars to American fashion". [[CBS News]].
5. Collings, Richard. (December 3, 2020). "With Ecommerce Boom, Lands' End Thrives as the Apparel Category Struggles". [[AdWeek]].
6. Hevesi, Dennis. (October 6, 2006). "Gary C. Comer, 78, Founder of Lands' End, Dies". [[The New York Times]].
7. Kogan, Rick. (October 5, 2006). "Gary Comer: 1927 - 2006". [[Chicago Tribune]].
8. "Lands End (LE) IPO Date". FinanceCharts.
9. Leung, Gabrielle. (September 5, 2019). "Rowing Blazers Taps Lands' End for Colorful Capsule Collection". [[Hypebeast (company).
10. (May 23, 2013). "Land's End Through the Years". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
11. (May 13, 2002). "Sears buys Lands' End". [[CNN]].
12. Wahba, Phil. (June 3, 2020). "Why Lands' End is betting on its new Kohl's partnership to refuel growth". [[Fortune (magazine).
13. Moin, David. (April 6, 2016). "Lands' End Paints a New Canvas". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
14. Lester, Tracey Lomrantz. (November 12, 2009). "Lands' End Gets Chicified: Get To Know Canvas". [[Glamour (magazine).
15. (April 8, 2016). "Lands' End Introduces Canvas by Lands' End". [[PR Newswire]].
16. Romell, Rick. (May 15, 2017). "Lands' End axes ex-CEO's apparel line". [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]].
17. Young, Vicki M.. (September 20, 2013). "Lands' End Enhances E-commerce for International Customers". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
18. Moin, David. (August 27, 2014). "Lands' End Lands in House of Fraser". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
19. (August 25, 2014). "Lands' End opens concession stands in House of Fraser". [[FashionUnited]].
20. (June 12, 2018). "Lands' End Starts Trading as Public Company". [[Associated Press]].
21. Wahba, Phil. (December 7, 2018). "How Lands' End Emerged From the Shadow of Sears and Prospered Again". Fortune.
22. (April 10, 2019). "Selling with the enemy: Why rival retailers embrace Amazon.com". [[Reuters]].
23. Moin, David. (April 6, 2016). "Lands' End Finding New Ground for Growth". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
24. Jansen, Caroline. (May 29, 2019). "Lands' End to take final steps away from Sears". [[Industry Dive]].
25. Moin, David. (April 14, 2022). "Lands' End Grows the Landscape for Luring Customers". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
26. Walk-Morris, Tatiana. (April 18, 2022). "Lands' End partners with QVC to sell swimwear". [[Industry Dive]].
27. (April 14, 2022). "Lands' End and QVC Strengthen Relationship With On-Air Launch". [[Globe Newswire]].
28. Miller, Nicholas G.. (2026-01-26). "Lands’ End, WHP Global Form Joint Venture".
29. (January 12, 1998). "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America". [[Fortune (magazine).
30. Rogers, Katie. (February 29, 2016). "'Catalog Interview With Gloria Steinem Has Lands' End on Its Heels'". [[The New York Times]].