Lands’ End Case Analysis

...

I believe that Lands’ End will be able to sustain their information technology competitive advantage. As discussed, the technology provided many benefits not only to the company but also the customers as well. In order for a company to sustain its IT technology, it is important that the technology is hard to acquire or even copy. Despite the fact that the company’s custom clothing innovation is visible to its competitors, the information technology is built on a very complex infrastructure that did not only involve the website but also ASI’s pattern-cutting software. The patterning application is invisible to competitors, hence difficult to copy.

Despite the fact that Lands’ End’s customer data were being shared with ASI, the former has control and security over their data. ASI could only use these data to create the apparel that Lands’ End’s customers wanted. ASI could not use the data of Lands’ End’s customers even when servicing the same customers of another retailers. The risk of having their own customers’ data being used by other retailers was mitigated by Lands’ End’s partial ownership of ASI.

When the sale to Sears was made, Lands’ End was on the top of their business career. The company was doing well, the sale was high, customers were loyal the their products and all of these were evident to the company’s share price in the market. Despite this, the company decided to sell and I believe it was a wrong decision on their part. Having discussed the competitive advantage that the company was enjoying because of their technology and the sustainability of this technology, it was a wrong decision that they decided to sell at that time.

Instead of focusing on the opportunity to be sold on another company’s shelves and website, Lands’ End should have focused on their own strengths and worked on their weaknesses. This would have helped the company improved and reach the success that they thought they would have after being purchased by another company. One thing that Lands’ End could have done is to enhance the relationship they share with their manufacturers. This will minimize the delay in the manufacturing and improve the manufacturing of their products. Lands’ End could also have decided to penetrate untapped markets such as China and India for potential customers (Unknown, 2014). Another step that Lands’ End could have done is to focus on differentiating their products. The company should have improved on the quality of their products and thought of other possible means to differentiate their products like offering more customized apparel to women.

SECTION IV: KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Lands’ End case made me realize that a unique, new and innovating idea that has utility and improvement in mind will undoubtedly sell online. But there are obstacles or trials a company will unavoidably go through to fulfill its goal of success. Lands’ End began selling their products online in 1999, their executives keen on the newly forming digital market place. From then the growth of revenue was steady, year after year. October 2001 to September 2002 they had seen a 40% increase in their online sales, 20% of which came from new customers. It is a confident move especially if you have already got a following of your brand, and a distribution matrix that is dependable. It is inarguably the future of traditional commerce. Had it not been for their long-term presence in the consumer consciousness, I do not believe they would have been so bold to take the leap from analog to digital. Hence it would make a lot of sense to establish one’s company first as a brand that is of quality, reliability and excitement so as to prepare itself to expand into other avenues of retail.

Another take-away from this case is that it is important for a company to have its own market when they decide to do something different. Customatix, an online company, offered customization of their sneakers. It bellied up however without any public announcement. I am deducing it was mismanagement and not a lack of interest by consumers, as I’ve read online. One Customatix customer’s case detailed very poor customer service, which is symptomatic of managerial problems (Syracuse, 2002). Nike started customizing in 1999 and showed a 20% increase in sales of these by 2002. Till present Nike has continued down this path, and call this feature on their website Nike Id. Several other brands have jumped in the bandwagon, to name a few: Vans, Adidas, Converse. So it is definitely a feature that has its own relevant market and any smart, bold company has to go beyond its defined comfort zones. Although not all of us are inclined to design, adjust or create our own styles and fashions, there is certainly a market for the more creatively inclined that will suit this feature.

It will be ideal to have a partnership with a competent software company. The burden of the customer-experience will fall on the software’s shoulders and how well they carry the customer through options and options and possibilities. The vast array of choices has to be streamlined so as not to overwhelm the customer. The presentation of these choices has to clear and clean in appearance. The less buttons to click on the better, I assume, as long as it does not go against functionality and efficiency. ASI is the backbone of the online customization experience of Lands’ End, and they have a 12 point system from filling out a form to delivering the final product on the customer’s doorstep. According to their research the percentage of customized products returned are the same for their regular retail line. For my third takeaway, to keep the customer interested I think one should continuously update the software so that it will impress upon the customer the notion of rampant changes for the sake of improvement.

A company in order to survive has to be ready to accept or embrace change. Innovations would be almost a common place. One of the first innovations Lands’ End did, through a partnership with Image Twin Inc. was to establish kiosks that spray you with a white light for about 12 seconds and measure your dimensions (Innocenzio, 2011). The hitch however is that your information is only stored within the premises of the shop. Your information is not accessible online. They tied up with another application and provided us with My Virtual Model which is basically like a virtual Barbie or Ken onscreen where you may dress them up (Unknown, 2004). These innovations attract or perhaps seduce the tech-hungry generation of millennial, and are of course an avenue to explore and cultivate.

SECTION V: EPILOGUE

In 2002, Sears bought Lands’ End for $1.9 billion. Sears then would be