Lands' End

Lands' End

Gary Comer, a copywriter turned entrepreneur, launched Lands' End out of a Chicago tannery loft in 1963, selling sailing hardware and duffel bags by mail. The business relocated to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and by the 1990s had become an iconic American catalog brand, synonymous with its unconditional guarantee and classic, logo-free casualwear. Sears acquired the company in 2002 for $1.9 billion, only to spin it off in 2014 into a standalone public entity as Sears's core retail operations deteriorated. The company generates revenue through two operating segments: direct-to-consumer e-commerce and its Lands' End Outfitters business-uniform channel, serving corporate clients like Delta Air Lines and school partnerships. Historically a catalog-funneled apparel house, Lands' End now operates digital marketplaces on its main site and through third-party retailers, including a shop-in-shop at Kohl's launched in 2021 that closed by late 2022. The product mix spans womenswear, menswear, kids, outerwear, home goods, and a swim collection; its e-commerce platform accounted for roughly 85% of net revenue in fiscal 2023. Andrew McLean, who previously held leadership roles at Urban Outfitters and Gap Inc., joined as chief commercial officer in 2022 and became CEO in January 2023, succeeding Jerome Griffith. The Dodgeville headquarters remains the operational anchor, with additional office and sourcing footprints reported in New York, the UK, and Hong Kong. Since McLean's appointment, the company has rationalized inventory, cut legacy catalogs, and invested in fit-focused digital tools and licensing deals, most recently a fall 2023 partnership with Ironman for performance apparel. Lands' End's structural differentiator is a genuinely hybrid retail-capital model: it is a $1.5 billion public company that operates more like a tested but evolving catalog brand than a modern apparel startup. Its Outfitters division gives it a recurring B2B revenue stream uncommon among peer apparel retailers, while the direct-to-consumer pivot keeps it in the high-margin e-commerce lane. The board and executive team remain focused on returning to sustainable profit growth after years of Sears overhang and pandemic-era inventory whiplash.