Lands' End's name is somewhat misleading. Yes, the apostrophe is misplaced - that is the result of a typographical error in an early catalog. More importantly, the name, chosen when the company started as a supplier of sailboat hardware and equipment in order to suggest a point of departure, does not adequately express what the company is actually selling: the folksiness of middle America. Located in rural Wisconsin, Lands' End has profited tremendously from the post-yuppie yearning for simplicity and value. Sales have steadily risen from $265 million in 1987 to $1.32 billion in 2000.

From the Windy City to America's dairyland

Former advertising copywriter Gary Comer founded the company in Chicago in 1963 to pursue his hobby of sailing. He started by selling sailing equipment, gradually added clothing and luggage, and in 1976, removed sailboat equipment altogether. The company moved to Wisconsin in 1979, and went public in 1986.

An End for Lands' End

William End, a former L.L. Bean exec, was named CEO of Lands' End in 1993, and put the company on track for international expansion and diversification, which included the $6 million acquisition of Territory Ahead, a men's and women's apparel retailer. Though End increased company profits, employees complained about new formal management techniques and an emphasis on quantity rather than quality. End was asked to resign in 1994, and was replaced by Michael Smith, who reintroduced a low-key environment, and who was best known by employees for wearing jeans and participating in lunch hour pick-up basketball games.

Lands' End: More than just a pretty catalogue

Besides outlet and "Inlet" stores, the company has no retail shops, which has allowed it to keep prices relatively stable over the years. In addition to its monthly "primary" catalogs, Lands' End offers specialty catalogs for products including school uniforms, business apparel for men and women, and a home line. In the past decade, Lands' End has also expanded its business into the U.K., Germany, and Japan.

Rule #1: The customer is always right

Lands' End banks on its main selling points: friendly service and classic, high-quality merchandise. It will hem trousers, send extra buttons or repair a piece of luggage for free; and its "Lost Mitten Club" will let you buy a single mitten (and ship it for free) if your child loses one during the same season it was purchased. The company tells its employees that they will never get in trouble for anything they do on behalf of a customer. Customer service representatives will stay on the phone as long as it takes to please a customer. The company prides itself on the fact that its standards are higher than industry specifications - it uses local kids to fit and "wear test" apparel, and had airline personnel test a recently-released luggage line. Merchandise is advertised with extensive (some would say tedious) attention to its construction; catalogs include information on stitching, weaves, and thread counts, and the history of fabrics like madras (as well as essays by famous celebrities and writers like David Mamet).

1998: A year to forget

Lands' End suffered a difficult year in 1998 - marked by weak sales and a stock price that plummeted 50 percent between February and November. CEO Michael Smith resigned from his post that October, under pressure from the board of directors. William Ferry, vice chairman of sales, departed soon after. David Dyer (who had been with Lands' End from 1989 to 1994) was brought in to fill the CEO post. The following month the company reported third quarter profits of $347,000 - a figure 96 percent lower than that for the same period the previous year. In January 1999, the company began cutting costs by closing three of its outlet stores, dismissing more than 10 percent of its workforce, and discontinuing its Willis & Geiger catalog division when a buyer could not be found.

The slumps continue