Lands' End comes to the Christiana Fashion Center as brick-and-mortar business expands

Lands' End, a clothing and home decor retailer, is the newest addition to the Christiana Fashion Center. 

Customers got their first taste of the store on Thursday as part of a soft opening. Lands' End will officially celebrate its grand opening on June 29. 

Lands' End is next to the Fortunoff Backyard Store and Hair Cuttery on the south end of the shopping center.

The nautical-themed store offers a clothing selection for women, men and kids, as well as extended sizes. Its current slate of spring and summer wear features swimwear, tank tops, shorts and summer shirts.

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The Lands' End in the Christiana Fashion Center is the company's first standalone Delaware location, and one of 10 stores the company has recently opened in its new "lighthouse" format. The stores feature elements designed to remind customers of home such as a fireplace and old catalog covers.

The catalog covers also serve as an homage to the store's beginnings.

The company was established as Lands' End Yacht Stores in Chicago in 1963. A year later, founder Gary Comer published his first catalog, the Lands' End Yachtsman's Equipment Guide. The catalogs soon became the backbone of the business and would remain its driving force until the company introduced e-commerce in the late 1990s. 

In 2002, Sears acquired Lands' End and gave it a presence in some of its locations, including in Delaware. Lands' End was spun off in 2013 and is now a publicly traded company. 

The company, based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, is expanding into brick-and-mortar locations as a way to complement its primary online business, according to senior vice president of retail Claudia Mazo.

Customers can return online purchases to the store and receive free shipping on online orders placed in store. The brick-and-mortar locations also increase brand familiarity.

"We have seen that these new stores have definitely helped with the direct demand," Mazo said. "And on the other side, we're opening these stores to be profitable on their own. So we want to make sure where we open we know our customer is there, so these stores can really pay back for themselves."

By the end of 2019, Lands' End plans to have between 26 and 31 standalone U.S. stores. Its recent expansion has been focused in the midwest and the northeast.

The Lands' End Airstream, a long tricked out trailer, will be at the grand opening at the end of the month in Christiana with a special "heritage" collection. The store will also have a prize wheel and light refreshments.

As one might suspect, the store is named after the British landmark Land's End. But on the first catalog 56 years ago, the apostrophe was misplaced and that's how it has appeared ever since.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com or at (302) 324-2267. Follow on Twitter @holveck_brandon.