Lands’ End profit rises 4.9% in second quarter

Lands’ End Inc. reported net income increased 4.9 percent in its fiscal second quarter.

The clothing retailer, spun off from Sears Holdings in April, earned $11.8 million, or 37 cents a share, in the three months ended Aug. 1. The company said sales increased 5.4 percent to $347.2 million compared with a year earlier.

“We are pleased with our second quarter results and our progress toward growing the business and building Lands’ End into a global lifestyle brand,” Edgar Huber, Lands’ End’s president and chief executive officer, said. “While the overall retail environment remained challenging, we continued to see positive customer response to our merchandising and marketing initiatives and remain focused on improving the contemporary relevance of the Lands’ End brand.”

Lands’ End starts trading as public company

Sears 2Q loss widens on sluggish sales

Sears announced in December it was going to spin off the clothing business as a way to unlock value for investors as the retailer’s core business struggles after years of sales declines. The company, which also runs Kmart stores, has been closing some unprofitable stores and sold some store leases in Canada.

Sears has spun off other businesses over the past three years, including its Hometown and Sears Outlet stores and its Orchard Supply Hardware Stores, to raise cash.

Lands’ End was a publicly traded company before Sears bought it in 2002 for nearly $2 billion.