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Rising from Sears’ ashes: Lands’ End works to emerge from the troubled parent’s shadow
The clothing retailer opened the first of 15 new locations it plans to add this year
Lands’ End will open 15 new locations in the Northeastern U.S. this year, part of a 75-store expansion the company envisions during the next five years to break away from parent company Sears.
The nautical-themed clothing retailer, which Sears acquired for $2 billion in 2002, once operated shops inside as many as 300 larger Sears stores, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The company credits its renewed focus in online sales for its steadily growing earnings, which hit $1.4 billion last year despite a 21 percent drop in sales at stores.
Lands’ End lost 63 locations inside Sears stores between August and October last year, when Sears Holdings was purging dozens of stores amid bankruptcy discussions. Lands’ End still operates about 40 of the stores within stores, but it plans to separate from Sears completely by the end of the year.
Five Lands’ End stores were opened last year, including three in the New York area and one in Illinois, adding to 11 other stand-alone stores. [Baltimore Sun] — Alex Nitkin