Lands' End and L.L. Bean Launch Lines Aimed at Younger Customers

Lands' End

Lands' End

Lands' End

L.L. Bean

L.L. Bean and Lands' End don't exactly bring to mind the word "cool."

But both catalog retailers are trying to amp up their style quotient with new lines aimed at younger customers. That means tighter women's shirts, low-rise pants and the virtual disappearance of the baggy pleated khakis that once were prevalent in both lines. L.L. Bean, a 97-year-old icon of New England style, is also introducing dressier clothes—suits for men and heels for women—and updating classic items like its buffalo plaid shirt, canvas tote bag and hunting boots with new colors and materials.

The shift isn't dramatic; there are no skin-tight jeans or lingerie looks here. But it is a big step away from the fleecy outdoors apparel and the boxy, middle-of-the-road styles for which both retailers are known.

'Americana' Style
L.L. Bean and Lands' End see an opportunity to engage younger consumers amid a vogue for "Americana"—plaid shirts, chino pants and oxford shirts. Newer designer brands recently have been creating modern versions of classics that Bean and Lands' End have been selling for years, and the catalog retailers are determined not to be outdone by hipster upstarts.

As part of the push for younger customers, L.L. Bean and Lands' End are using social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos to promote their new lines. The two plan to lean more heavily on Web sites created for the lines; Lands' End is even eschewing a catalog for its new Canvas line, though it is considering a "magalog" aimed at driving consumers to order online. "It's a different step forward for us, but one that makes sense for where this customer shops," says Nick Coe, president of Lands' End, which is owned by Sears Holding Corp.

L.L. Bean Inc., meanwhile, is creating a catalog for its new line that looks like a fashion magazine, with models moving about on city streets, along boardwalks and inside fabulous apartments—a big departure from the clothier's trademark pages of product shots.

Still, the two brands face hurdles in making themselves relevant to consumers in their 20s and 30s. Younger people generally don't shop by catalog. And when Mintel International earlier this year surveyed adults who had recently bought merchandise from a catalog, just 8% of 18-to-24-year-olds said they had ordered something from L.L. Bean. The figure was 10% for 25-to-34-year-olds. The trends were similar for Lands' End.

Alex Gardell, a 22-year-old college student and dance instructor who says she loves to shop at stores like J. Crew and Forever 21, is the kind of customer both brands are targeting. She is also an example of what the brands are up against.

'A Functional Fleece'
Ms. Gardell, who lives in Manhattan, says she can't remember the last thing she ordered from L.L. Bean or Lands' End. "It might have been a functional fleece to go skiing," she says. "I go through the catalogs, and I don't really see anything that jumps out at me and makes me want to buy. It's kind of dowdy. What comes to mind is pleated khaki pants and zip-up fleeces that come in 18 different colors but don't really have style."

Still, she says she would be willing to give the new collections a look. "If there is something different, I'll try it," she says.

For both brands, the biggest difference lies in fit. To design its Signature line, which launches in March, L.L. Bean tapped Alex Carleton, who founded fashion line Rogues Gallery and once worked as a designer at Bean. Signature alters the silhouettes of the label's clothing, such as men's work shirts and cargo pants and women's camp shirts and shirt dresses. In some cases, it changes the fabrics, using chambray rather than poplin, for instance. Also, pants for both men and women have shorter rises, the length of the fabric from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband. Prices will be slightly higher than those in L.L. Bean's core line.

'A Closer Fit'
"Younger consumers tend to be looking for a closer fit and have a different way of wearing their clothes," explains Chris Vickers, vice president of L.L. Bean Signature. The buildup of dressier clothing was intended to help consumers build a complete L.L. Bean wardrobe, he says, rather than being limited to casual weekend wear.

Similarly, Lands' End's Canvas collection, which went on sale in November, updates clothing from the brand's archives—chinos, oxford shirts, cardigans—with a more modern fit. Lands' End, whose origins lie in sailing apparel, even warns on Canvas's Web site that a women's oxford shirt runs small.

The clothes are also characterized by a softer, more relaxed feel. They are prewashed for a more broken-in look, and many of the poplin, oxford and polo shirts arrive unpressed and minimally packaged to give them a "relaxed, lived-in style," according to Canvas's Web site. Mr. Coe says Web feedback from consumers in their 20s and 30s so far has been positive.

Tom Julian, president of brand-consulting firm Tom Julian Group, says it's almost mandatory for older brands like these to incorporate contemporary touches, but they shouldn't try to be too trendy, which could alienate existing fans and risk looking like they are trying too hard. It can be done. Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic and J. Crew each at first had limited appeal with a particular look (safari/travel for Banana Republic, for example) but found ways to expand appropriately, he notes.

In addition to their ability to tap the vogue for classic American workwear and casual clothes, L.L. Bean and Lands' End have several things in their favor. Both brands' apparel is reasonably priced—an important attribute for today's cost-conscious consumer.

Shopping From Home
In addition, shopping from home has been more popular since the bust of the conspicuous-consumption bubble. While sales of apparel fell 2.4% at direct-mail retailers like L.L. Bean during the 12-month period that ended Oct. 31, things were worse at department stores, where sales fell 9.6%, according to market researcher NPD Group. (Both L.L. Bean and Lands' End are opening stores for these new collections.)

Madison Riley, managing director at retail consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates, notes that both brands' long histories as direct-mail merchants will help them. "Should demand increase [from younger consumers], they'll be able to rapidly adjust and service that demand," he says.

But keeping up with young consumers is not an easy task, as successful brands freshen their lines with new styles frequently these days. "Just jumping on Facebook doesn't mean you're going to be relevant with young people," says David Bassuk, a managing director at business-advisory firm AlixPartners's retail practice. The brands "will have to do some work bringing consumers what they want at the speed they want … and responding more quickly to trends. It's a very different capability."

Michael Williams, the 31-year-old founder of style blog "A Continuous Lean," notes that the Americana trend has already gone mainstream. "People who led the look are starting to move on," he says. Of course, the mass audience is still wearing the style. But "L.L. Bean and Lands' End are coming at the tail end of this from a trend-setter perspective," he says.

(Wall Street Journal)



I love the looks from Lands' End.