Lands’ End: Online Pioneer
By George Anderson
The decision by Lands’ End to start selling its products online had nothing to do with some grand vision of how the Internet was going to change the world of retailing, reports USA Today.
Instead as Bill Bass, head of Lands’ End online business told the paper, “It was, ‘Hey, here’s another way of reaching our customers. Let’s test it and see how it goes.”
Today, the online portion of Lands’ End business contributes about a third of the retailer’s revenues and, as Donald Libey, managing director of Libey-Concordia told USA Today, it has become “the ultimate model in how to do an Internet business.”
The retailer will be put to the test online and over the phones as it begins its busiest week of the year, starting on Sunday.
“Knowing that Christmas is a couple of weeks away, (people) have to get their gift-giving hats on. And they’ve had the Thanksgiving weekend to be around friends and family to
see what they want,” says Jackie Johnson-Caygill, director of customer sales and services for Lands’ End.
Moderator’s Comment: What most impresses you about the online arm of the Lands’ End business? –
George Anderson – Moderator