Lands' End

**Lands' End** is an American clothing and home decor retailer founded in 1963 and based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, that specializes in casual clothing, luggage, and home furnishings. The majority of the company's business is conducted through mail order and Internet sales, but the company also has retail stores, primarily in the Upper Midwest, along with international shops in the UK, Germany, Japan, France and Austria. Since 2002, Lands' End has been a subsidiary of Sears Holdings.

## 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. As the business became successful, it expanded into general clothing and home furnishings, and moved to Dodgeville, Wisconsin in 1978. The company is named from its sailboat heritage, after Land's End, but the misplaced apostrophe in the company name was a typographical error that Comer could not afford to change, as promotional materials had already been printed.

Lands' End's catalog business expanded in the 1980s, riding a nationwide wave of mail-order success. The company expanded its computer systems and customer service operations. In 1986, it became a publicly traded company. The 1990s saw continued growth, as the company began international expansion and became an early embracer of e-commerce, establishing a website and "live chat" customer service. In 1992, Lands' End was named among "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America".

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

In 2002, Sears bought the company for $2 billion in cash. In addition to operating mail order and online business and Lands' End Inlet stores (a reverse pun used for its outlet stores), Sears offered a Lands' End clothing line in a large number of its retail stores. In 2012, the company formed an "online partnership" with the UK's Debenhams and House of Fraser department stores; in 2016 it began selling on Amazon.

In November 2009, Lands' End launched a new line called Lands' End Canvas, which offers a more fashion-oriented selection of casual clothing for men and women.

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

In 2016, feminist activist Gloria Steinem was featured in the catalog of Lands' End. After an outcry from pro-life customers, the company removed Steinem from their website, stating on their Facebook page: "It was never our intention to raise a divisive political or religious issue, so when some of our customers saw the recent promotion that way, we heard them. We sincerely apologize for any offense." The company then faced further criticism online, 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.

As of the end of 2018, Lands' End had 65 locations, 16 of which are stand-alone (Lands' End Stores), the remainder inside Sears branches (Lands' End Shops at Sears). In 2019, Lands' End announced it would close the remaining store-within-a-store branches in Sears stores, after its parent company, Sears Holdings, announced that Lands' End would strike out individually from now on.

## See also

* Lands' End/Locations

**[boxcar] (Website, Technology & Software Development Division)**
ChargePoint | Ring
**Amazon (e-commerce division)**

 **[cendant]  (Real Estate & Hospitality Division)**

**LUXURY Hotels**
**PREMIUM Hotels**
**MIDSCALE Hotels**
**ECONOMY Hotels**

**Cendant DESTINATIONS**

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**[clothespins]  (Sears Retail Network; Physical Retail & Private Label Division)**
*Bookstores:* Borders
*Bridalwear/formalwear Stores:* David's Bridal | Gingiss Formalwear
*Clothing Stores:* **Lands' End** | Lucky Brand Jeans
*Convenience Stores (Couche-Tard):* Circle K
*Department Stores:* Lord & Taylor | Kmart | Sears
*Home Decor/Furniture Stores:* At Home | Ashley HomeStore | Restoration Hardware
*Office Supply Stores:* OfficeMax | Office Depot
*Pet Supply Stores:* PetSmart
*Pool Supply Stores:* Leslie's
*Supermarkets:* Whole Foods Market
*Toy Stores:* Child World | KB Toys

 **[fulfillment]  (Manufacturing & Distribution Division)**
*Bicycle Manufacturing:* Diamondback Bicycles | Mavic | Redline Bicycles
*Distribution Centers:*

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*Kaiser Permanente:* Aspen Dental
*Sears Fitness Network:* Planet Fitness
*Equinox:*

**[omnimedia] (media division)**
*General Amusement (Conventions):* SearsFest | Twitchcon

**[savory] (Sears Restaurant Network; Restaurant Division)**

**[truist] (Financial Division)**

**[western] (Sears Auto Network; Automotive Division)**
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*Auto Parts Stores:* Western Auto | CARQUEST & WORLDPAC
*Car Dealerships & Sales:* AutoNation | CARVANA | DriveTime
*Car Repair Centers:* Big O Tires | Midas | National Tire & Battery

**General Cinemas (Cinema Division)**
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General Cinemas Corporation | Cinemark

**[prodigy] (telecommunications division)**

**Other Assets:**