Land’s End Headquarters, Wisconsin

The small town of Dodgeville is the headquarters and main location for the large catalog clothing company, Land’s End. The company employs more than 5,000 people here, more than the entire population of the town. Land’s End was launched as a store for yachting gear in 1963, in Chicago, and began a mail order business the following year. It was mostly hardware, initially, but also sold useful soft-goods, like rain gear, and duffel bags. It became more of a clothing and “lifestyle” company after its catalog went to color, in 1975. By 1977, it passed the million dollar mark, and its founder, Gary Comer, began to move operations to Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Its headquarters moved there in 1980. In 2002, it was acquired by Sears, and in 2013 it left Sears and becomes its own company again. It has restored a few lighthouses around the country, as part of its philanthropy, and to reinforce its “land’s end” brand logo, which is a lighthouse. Dodgeville is in southern central Wisconsin, not near the end of any land.