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Beginning At Lands' End
Federica Marchionni has a plan for the moderately priced label for the masses that doesn't rely on her high-fashion background.
Federica Marchionni aims to push Lands' End's all-American style up a notch, and take it global.
The chic former Dolce & Gabbana executive, who was named Lands' End's president and chief executive officer in February, has been getting her bearings and developing her master plan to turn around the company. From a marketing perspective, Marchionni's arrival will be felt by the fall, with significant merchandising changes becoming more evident next year.
Marchionni and Lands' End are an unlikely pairing with a considerable cultural divide -- and it's her first ceo role. But in a recent interview, Marchionni said she knows the American market, that she's studied the company -- its DNA and inner workings -- and she's moving quickly to raise brand awareness and implement growth strategies.
"What I realized immediately is that we have no time to waste," Marchionni said. "Competition today doesn't allow you to take your time to make decisions and produce ideas and make things happen."
The pressure is on the 43-year-old from Santa Severa, a small town outside of Rome, to reverse Lands' End's recent record of thinning profits and prove she's a good fit for the company -- even if she personally takes a particularly...