Lands' End celebrated 50 years in business earlier this week. The chain, which got its start as a mail-order operation in Chicago in 1963, gained fame, in part, because of its unconditional satisfaction guarantee and with high levels of customer service that remain with the chain today under the ownership of Sears Holdings.
"We are extremely proud of our heritage and are looking forward to giving our customers exceptional quality and value for the next fifty years," said Edgar Huber, CEO and president of Lands' End, in a press release.
In an interview with WWD, Sears Holdings CEO Edward Lampert said he was looking for Lands' End to grow from a $3 billion business to $5 billion by globalizing the brand. To date, Lands' End has a physical presence in three countries outside the U.S. — Germany, Japan and the U.K. Mr. Lampert sees opportunities for Lands' End to expand its footprint to other countries either on its own or perhaps with partners.
The company has invested in remodeling the Lands' End store-within-a-store concept inside Sears as well as standalone units.
"I believe the physical representation should be something that matches the online digital presentation," Mr. Lampert told WWD. "We have made a large investment to bring that to life. Integrated retail is still not second nature. It's something that we are still refining."
Last year, the New York Post reported that Mr. Lampert was seeking a buyer for Lands' End that would license the brand back to Sears. It was not the only time a sale was rumored for the company, which many have seen as a bad fit with Sears Holdings since it was acquired back in 2002.
Mr. Lampert told WWD that the merger with Lands' End was hindered by a "conservative culture" that failed to develop a "plan to integrate Lands' End into Sears in any way."
In a March 2012 RetailWire poll, 70 percent said they believed Lands' End could succeed if it were no longer part of Sears Holdings.