Recharging Sears

Hooking up with Lands' End, the old store buys into a new idea: multichannel retailing. Will it work?

Wall street blessed the marriage of tools and turtlenecks last week when Sears, Roebuck & Co. announced it will buy preppie-apparel maker Lands' End for $1.9 billion in cash. Both stocks moved up on the news--a rarity at a time when investors are justifiably wary of big mergers. Executives of the two companies emphasized that Sears, now strongest in products like auto batteries and wrench sets, will get a chance to revive its tired apparel department while Lands' End, which has thrived as a catalog and online merchant, will get to hang its wares in 870 Sears stores across the country....

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!