Lands’ End Inc. is in the process of closing its Japan operation by the end of the fiscal year.
The Dodgeville-based business said in a regulatory filing that its board voted in July to cease an e-commerce business in Japan. Lands’ End (Nasdaq: LE) notified employees there of the pending closure in August and began its wind-down. Liquidation sales began in September.
A spokesperson for Lands’ End did not respond to requests for comment about the decision to close the Japan operation or for further information about what that unit entails.
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President and chief financial officer Jim Gooch previously told Wall Street analysts that unit represents a relatively small portion of Lands’ End’s international business but nonetheless was unprofitable. He said the merchant would move its investment from Japan to other parts of the business that are expected to offer a higher rate of return.
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According to company records, Lands’ End leases office space in Shin-Yokohama for a customer sales and service center. In addition, the business has a 56,000-square-foot distribution center in Fujieda.
Outside Japan, other components of the retailer’s international operations include facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Kwun Tong, Hong Kong.
For its most recent fiscal quarter, Lands’ End reported its international e-commerce revenue declined 19.6% from last year to $38 million. Its U.S. e-commerce revenue was similar to one year ago – down 1.3%.
Overall, revenue from all of the company’s lines of businesses fell 1.3% from last year to $371 million.
Lands’ End attributed the results to the economy’s impact on consumer demand for discretionary items. From the international perspective, the merchant said revenue also was affected by “foreign currency translation exposure,” a metric that relates to changes in exchange rates.
