Recharging Sears

An informal sampling of longtime Lands' End customers indicates that Lacy may have a lot of persuading to do. Some are worried that the link with Sears will cheapen Lands' End. "What is a clothing manufacturer if not image — and they're about to kill their image," says Nicole Gueron, 33, a lawyer from New York City who describes herself as an "off-and-on" customer of Lands' End for the past 15 years. Marietta Caiarelli, 59, a nurse from St. Louis, Mo., says she hopes the Lands' End quality and service she has come to depend on don't suffer. "My heart sank when I heard the news," she says. "I thought, It will never be the same again."

Sandra McKeveny, 55, a mother of three from Pelham Manor, N.Y., buys from both Sears and Lands' End but says she has rarely walked through Sears' apparel floor. She acknowledges that while it might be nice to be able to touch and feel a Lands' End shirt before buying it, she will probably still just order from the catalog. She concedes, however, that now that she knows Sears will be stocking Lands' End goods, she might "wander off" to that department the next time she stops in for an appliance.