Will Lands’ End be the next American trad brand to become Italianized? Today the Wall Street Journal carries a story with the headline “New Lands’ End CEO Delivers High Fashion—and a Culture Clash,” and the subhead, “At the catalog retailer, frumpy duds are out, strappy heels are in; ‘It doesn’t look like Lands’ End anymore.'”
Last February the company appointed a new CEO, Federica Marchionni, who had previous held executive roles at Ferrari and Dolce & Gabbana. The result?
“It doesn’t look like Lands’ End anymore,” said Lee Eisenberg, the company’s creative director from 1999 to 2004. “There was never the implication that if you wore Lands’ End you’d be on a beach on Nantucket living the perfect life.”
The company was already floundering, but it just delivered a $19.5 million loss after a profit of $73.8 million the year before:
While cuts may be changing (the buttondowns seem to have shrunken collars), overall the men’s page looks fairly trad; it’s the women’s department where the winds of fashion are rocking the Lands’ End ship most strongly.
Continues the story:
Interviews with a dozen former Lands’ End executives paint a picture of a company adrift long before Ms. Marchionni took the helm. Missteps were amplified when it was owned by Sears’s, these people said, as managers ordered excess merchandise based on unrealistic plans. When sales fell short, the company was forced to markdown unsold goods, hurting margins, these people said.
A Sears spokesman said Lands’ End posted some of its most profitable years under Sears, and that Lands’ End management, not Sears, was responsible for decisions made at the time.
Lands’ End was founded in 1963 as a mail-order supplier of sailboat equipment by adman Gary Comer, who moved warehouse and phone operations to Dodgeville in 1978. The call center, staffed by farmers’ wives, took pride in answering phones in one ring.
After stepping down as CEO in 1990, Mr. Comer served as chairman until 2002. He fostered a familial atmosphere, often walking the halls in jeans and sweaters. He liked to say, “Take care of the customers, take care of the employees and profits will take care of themselves.”
The latest comment on the WSJ page is probably a good summary of the sentiments of Tradsville:
Someone please give me an example of an established brand dumping its core customers and then reaching new heights of success in new markets? this is several bridges too far.
Click here for the whole story, and if you hit a paywall, copy and paste the headline into Google and that should remove it. — CC
If CC’s suggestion doesn’t work, this link should get you over, under, or through the paywall:
http://on.wsj.com/1T2xngH
Darn. I liked Land’s End.
What brands would you recommend in a similar price range?
The ship may have sprung a leak but it hasn’t sunk yet.
It makes the non-iron stuff from LL Bean look positively traditional (although I swear the collars look shrunken in the new catalog). Very few affordable traditional options left these days.
Hopefully the ship will stay afloat for a few more years.
As styles die off, they become less affordable for those who still want them.
Nice touch honoring Comer on their website http://www.landsend.com/aboutus/?brandCode=classic&cm_re=lec-_-hp-_-sb4-1-1-_-aboutus-_-20160423-_-area
Marc is right – staples are getting more and more expensive. LE still has a lot of things to like but in most cases – they’re not as good as you’d want them to be. I do think the Drifter sweaters are fantastic.
Stock up on LE khakis before they start designing them to fit like tights.
WSJ writes: “Someone please give me an example of an established brand dumping its core customers and then reaching new heights of success in new markets? ”
Abercrombie & Fitch.
Word, R. Lasst! LE traditional-fit chinos have been my go-to chinos for years. Coincidentally, I just ordered some new ones this week. I can say that, so far, the fit has not changed. I have more expensive chinos in the closet, too, from such as O’Connell’s, where the major difference is a few nicer details and heavier fabric. But for fit, including rise (I buy the long-rise), leg dimensions, and such, I can’t tell the difference. In fact, because of the lighter fabric, my LE trad-fit are great summer chinos. All this as a kind of plea to the gods to keep some of what we like about LE untouched.
Are the trad fit pant tapered? How high is the rise?
I don’t like ordering clothes online because stuff almost never fits well.
Good to see Bruce Hulse (my brother from another mother) still hard at work. ;oP I haven’t seen him since the early 90’s when GQ still meant something. Is the woman at his side the RL model from the same period?
I used to love Lands End, and still have a few shirts, trousers, and what-not from 10+ years ago. Now, however, about the only thing I’ll buy from them is socks and underwear, and even those aren’t a sure thing.
I thought Italians were supposed to know their clothes, but they sure are messing up the American clothiers they bought out. We might as well call them “Fine della Terra” and “Fratelli Ruscello.”