Lands’ End Sales Weaker than Expected

Lands’ End Inc. said its November sales fell 18%, far more than expected, because of a cutback in catalog mailings and weak demand for cold-weather clothing. The news sent its shares down nearly 25%. The retailer, which warned last month that its fourth-quarter sales would decline because of the catalog cuts, also said it was hurt by the shifting of a clearance catalog to the third quarter of this year from the fourth quarter of 1998. Chief Executive David Dyer is making a big push on the Internet, where using computers to track orders is cheaper and easier than catalogs. The expansion included reducing catalog pages by 20% for the second half of this year. However, Lands’ End still relies heavily on the mail-order catalogs, which generated 95% of last year’s $1.37 billion in revenue. In a regulatory filing, Lands’ End said it will continue to cut back on catalog mailings in the first half of next year, which “will have a similar but smaller impact on sales.” Shares in Dodgeville, Wis.-based Lands’ End fell $14.13 to close at $43.63 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock lost more than a third of its value on Nov. 11 after the company issued its sales warning.