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{"id":4682,"date":"2016-02-25T15:06:40","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T20:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=4682"},"modified":"2016-02-25T15:06:40","modified_gmt":"2016-02-25T20:06:40","slug":"can-lands-end-be-saved-three-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2016\/02\/can-lands-end-be-saved-three-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Land’s End Be Saved? Three Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I thought I was done with this topic, but no b-school case study is complete until the student has proposed solutions. \u00a0I\u2019ve got three.<\/p>\n

1. New management<\/a>.<\/strong> \u00a0I realize political and religious tests are popular in certain quarters<\/a>, but I don\u2019t hold with that for a moment. \u00a0If Frederica Marchionni is capable of leading an American retailer, by all means keep her on. \u00a0It appears she\u2019s generated massive mistrust from all quarters, and that she lacks either a grasp of her customer base or a grasp of how to manage her staff. \u00a0If that can be fixed without anyone falling on their sword, all the better. \u00a0If it can\u2019t, new regime.<\/p>\n

2. Deal with the quality problems. \u00a0<\/strong>Land\u2019s End trades on value. \u00a0The longstanding customer concerns about poor quality, inconsistent sizing, and other problems have got to be dealt with openly and definitively. \u00a0No one will pay a premium for an unreliable product. \u00a0The desperate attempts to give the brand a makeover are no good if customers don\u2019t trust the merchandise.<\/p>\n

Given the current quality problems, consider trying to rebuild trust by offering a free-shipping-and-returns option. \u00a0To benchmark: L.L. Bean does this via their store-brand Visa card \u2014 if you use the card, you get the free shipping both ways. \u00a0No doubt Land\u2019s End can think up some similar scheme that lets the company favor regular customers with confidence that the products are good enough there won\u2019t be a need to make a return anyway.<\/p>\n

3. Unmuddy the brands. \u00a0<\/strong>In the latest amusing new venture, we learn the company\u2019s coming out with a designer collection<\/a> \u2014 and they warn us they\u2019ll be using a separate sizing chart for those clothes. \u00a0Cut this out. \u00a0I approve of the new collection (not gonna wear it, but people like shiny, that\u2019s cool), but for goodness sake quit generating seventeen different types of products and throwing them all into the same laundry basket.<\/p>\n

Create a sister store. \u00a0Run your completely different product line under a different name, in a different portion of the web \u2014 but hey \u2014 look, you can check out from both stores in one easy step, shared shopping basket, and you\u2019re allowed to use coupons from one on the other. \u00a0When I\u2019m looking for sensible cardigans I don\u2019t want to see sulky runway models wrapped in giant bows, and I\u2019m sure the reverse is also true. \u00a0I don\u2019t want to have to remember if this is one of those outfits with the tight armholes. \u00a0Give your different customers a break. \u00a0It\u2019s not like women don\u2019t know how to click over to the other store real quick to see what\u2019s on sale before they check out.<\/p>\n

I know you think you\u2019ve been doing this, but you haven\u2019t. \u00a0You have not.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not inside the company. \u00a0I don\u2019t know how bad things are. \u00a0Maybe no amount of fixing the customer experience can salvage the place. \u00a0But if the firm is able to continue as a going concern, these are the areas I see that need to be dealt with ASAP. \u00a0Best of luck to you in the process.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>

$\"File:Beautiful$ <\/p>\n

Photo by Michael Dorausch from Venice, USA (<\/em>beautiful brown eyes uploaded by tm) [CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"