Lands' End (LE) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

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Date

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 8 a.m. ET

Call participants

• Chief Executive Officer — Andrew McLean
• Chief Financial Officer — Bernard McCracken
• Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis — Tom Altholz

Takeaways

• Total Revenue -- $239 million, a decline of 9% due to temporary U.S. distribution center disruption and deliberate shipment pacing.
• Gross Profit -- Down 16% year over year, reflecting margin pressure from distribution issues, new JV royalty costs, and tariffs.
• Gross Margin -- Fell to 43%, down approximately 410 basis points from the prior year; decrease stems mainly from cost deleverage, royalty structure, and tariffs.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- Negative $6 million, a fall of $16 million from the previous year, impacted by operational and structural changes.
• Adjusted Net Loss -- $4 million, or $0.11 per share, versus adjusted net income of $5 million, or $0.18 per share, in Q1 2025.
• U.S. eCommerce Revenue -- Decreased 10%, primarily due to warehouse management system rollout.
• European eCommerce Revenue -- Increased 15%, with gross margin up 70 basis points; no distribution disruption in this segment.
• Outfitters Revenue -- Declined 10%, linked to distribution center upgrade timing, with underlying order book reported as healthy.
• Third-Party Marketplace Revenue -- Decreased 6%, largely due to profit-focused reduction in promotional activity.
• SG&A Expense -- Rose $3 million year over year, up about 570 basis points as a percentage of revenue, from fixed cost deleverage and increased marketing.
• Inventory -- Ended at $300 million, up from $262 million last year, influenced by timing of distribution ramp-up and tariffs.
• Debt Position -- $30 million in ABL borrowings, reduced from $40 million; term loan paid off using $300 million JV cash proceeds.
• Share Repurchase Authorization -- Board approved up to $100 million in buybacks through March 31, 2029, following JV closing.
• WHP Global JV Structure -- Lands' End and WHP each hold 50% of a joint venture that owns the brand IP, with WHP controlling; $300 million in proceeds enabled payoff of term loan.
• Royalty and Licensing Economics -- Lands' End pays JV at least $50 million in annual royalties, receives 50% of JV profits quarterly; JV EBITDA margins expected not to fall below 85%.
• Guidance for Next Quarter -- Net revenue expected at $290 million-$310 million, adjusted net income of $2 million-$5 million, adjusted diluted EPS of $0.06-$0.16, and adjusted EBITDA of $11 million-$14 million.
• Full-Year Guidance -- Net revenue projected at $1.3 billion-$1.4 billion, adjusted net income $10 million-$20 million, adjusted diluted EPS $0.32-$0.65, and adjusted EBITDA $68 million-$78 million; $40 million in capital expenditures planned.
• Joint Venture Early Wins -- Extended three major licenses into one through 2033 at higher royalty minimums, renewed footwear partnership for 7 years, and selected a new home textiles partner, with over $150 million of long-term guaranteed royalty value expected.
• Recast Baseline Impact -- Pro forma for new structure, 2025 revenue declines $18 million, gross profit drops $83 million, adjusted EBITDA reclassified from $102 million to $56 million, and interest expense falls from $37 million to $4 million.
• Tariff Impact -- All current inventory booked at the higher 15% tariff rate, with ongoing mitigation via vendor flexibility and supply chain moves.
• Distribution Center Update -- Warehouse management system implementation now complete; operations have returned to normal with improved shipping and daily order fulfillment capabilities.
• B2B and DTC Strategic Emphasis -- Company highlighted the strength and growth potential of both business-to-business uniform (Outfitters) and digitally enabled consumer platforms.
• Brand Engagement Indicators -- Social media followership up more than 30% year over year; U.S. digital traffic up mid-teens percentage, and new-to-brand acquisitions up low single digits.
• Three-year Targets -- Mid-single-digit annual revenue growth expected, driven by DTC and Outfitters; adjusted EBITDA margin targeted to reach high single digits, supported by both operational leverage and JV contribution.
• Shareholder Value Upside Mechanics -- In the event of a WHP monetization, Lands' End can exchange its JV stake for WHP equity at the monetization multiple; scenarios presented indicate potential $22-$38 per share in value depending on JV EBITDA and multiple applied.

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Risks

• Gross margin decreased by approximately 410 basis points, principally due to the deleverage from distribution center disruption, new JV royalty structure, and tariff headwinds.
• Adjusted EBITDA was negative $6 million, representing a material $16 million deterioration year over year, driven by shipment timing disruption, increased royalty costs, and continued tariff pressure.
• SG&A expenses rose $3 million year over year, and the ratio increased approximately 570 basis points from fixed cost deleverage and higher marketing investments.
• Inventory increased to $300 million from $262 million, attributable to operational timing and tariff impacts, with normalization dependent on improved inventory flow and demand.

Summary

Lands' End (NASDAQ:LE) completed its transformative joint venture with WHP Global, using $300 million in proceeds to repay its term loan and authorize $100 million in share repurchases, fundamentally improving its balance sheet and capital flexibility. The company introduced a new royalty-based revenue structure, in which annual royalties of at least $50 million and 50% of JV profits are recognized, establishing high-margin, recurring earnings potential. The quarter was marked by a 9% revenue decline and negative $6 million adjusted EBITDA, both driven largely by a one-off distribution center system implementation and strategic refocus on profitable sales, while strong growth in European eCommerce and promising second quarter demand trends were reported. Management provided detailed guidance and outlined a unique value creation mechanism through the potential exchange of its JV stake into WHP Global equity at monetization multiples, highlighting multiple paths to shareholder value. Looking ahead, the company targets mid-single-digit revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, and ongoing operational improvements as it leverages the JV structure and strategic product initiatives.

• Licenses with three major apparel partners were consolidated and extended to 2033 at higher minimum royalties, while the footwear license was renewed for seven years, adding over $150 million in guaranteed royalties to the JV.
• Inventory growth was attributed equally to timing from the distribution ramp-up, the effect of tariffs, and a conservative purchasing approach in response to tariff risk, with normalization expected as conditions stabilize.
• Warehouse management system implementation is now complete; in CEO Andrew McLean's words: "we pick up a day for our customers," reducing order delivery time by roughly 20%-25% and enabling improved customer fulfillment capabilities.
• Share repurchase authorization of $100 million positions the company to act opportunistically on perceived undervaluation; Andrew McLean noted, "would change our float materially. And actually, it would change the valuation of the company."
• Lands' End plans to launch new licenses through the JV beginning in the next fiscal year, with over a dozen in progress and expected to positively affect royalty income streams.
• Royalty and profit participation from the JV delivers a recurring high-quality stream that supplements core operating cash flows, underpinning management's long-term EBITDA margin target expansion and capital allocation ambitions.

Industry glossary

• JV (Joint Venture): A corporate structure where two or more parties, in this case Lands' End and WHP Global, each own a percentage stake and share rights and obligations, used here to hold and license the Lands' End brand intellectual property.
• ABL (Asset-Based Lending): A credit facility secured by company assets, reported as $30 million of borrowings at quarter end.
• B2B (Business-to-Business): Refers to the Lands' End Outfitters segment, supplying uniforms and branded products to enterprises such as national accounts, small businesses, and schools.
• GMR (Guaranteed Minimum Royalty): The minimum royalty payment amount contractually owed to the owner of intellectual property (here, the JV), irrespective of sales performance.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Tom Altholz: Good morning, and thank you for joining our First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Enhanced Earnings Conference Call. In addition to our financial results, we will discuss our forward-looking strategy and financial outlook following the closing of our joint venture transaction with WHP Global. This morning's news release and an accompanying investor presentation can be found on our website, landsend.com. I'm Tom Altholz, Lands' End's Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, and I'm pleased to join you today with Andrew McLean, our Chief Executive Officer; and Bernie McCracken, our Chief Financial Officer. After the prepared remarks, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Please also note that the information we're about to discuss includes forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties.

The company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed on this call. Factors that could contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those items noted and included in the company's SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in the slides which accompany this webcast and can be found on our Investor Relations website. The forward-looking information that is provided by the company on this call represents the company's outlook as of today, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us. Subsequent events and developments may cause the company's outlook to change.

In addition, our comments also present illustrative examples of potential outcomes related to our joint venture. There can be no assurance that such examples will occur or that the joint venture will deliver the hypothetical results presented. During this call, we will be referring to non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release issued earlier today, a copy of which is posted in the Investor Relations section of our website at landsend.com. With that, I'll turn the call over to Andrew.

Andrew McLean: Thank you, Tom. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin by noting that as we previewed last quarter, today's call will cover both our Q1 earnings as well as a more comprehensive discussion of our strategic priorities and the significant opportunities ahead. After our quarterly results, we will provide an overview of the joint venture transaction with WHP Global, which closed on April 1, our post-transaction operating model, including the key growth drivers behind it, our financial outlook for Q2, and full year 2026 as well as 3-year targets and the potential value creation opportunities the joint venture unlocks.

We'll discuss more shortly, but at a high level, it's helpful to note that the creation of the joint venture marked a genuine inflection point for our business. By changing the structure of our business, we believe that we have enhanced the character of Lands' End as an investment and enhance the prospects for this iconic American brand and company. We entered this new chapter with momentum. We closed fiscal 2025 with a return to top line growth in the fourth quarter. For the full year, we expanded gross margin, grew adjusted EBITDA and more than doubled adjusted net income, building a strong foundation for what comes next.

Because of the many changes to our business on today's call, we will provide you with a clear picture of what to expect from the company. And then, of course, we'll look forward to your questions. With that, let me touch on some highlights from the first quarter. As we look at the first quarter, the most important takeaway is that underlying demand for the Lands' End brand continued to strengthen. Consumer traffic was up double digits, new customer acquisitions improved and Outfitters entered the year with a growing order book that reinforces our confidence in the business.

While our reported results were affected by the temporary operational disruption tied to our U.S. distribution center upgrades, which delayed shipments, and therefore, muted sales, the underlying sales performance of the business was stronger than the headline numbers suggest. Absent those issues, we had the orders needed to drive positive sales comps for the company. Europe provides a particularly clear proof point. In that business, where distribution centers were not an issue, we delivered strong double-digit revenue growth, confirming that our product merchandising was customers. Importantly, the backlog that built to roughly 1 week of demand has now been cleared.

We are back to operating in a steady state, and we are already beginning to capture efficiency gains that should improve delivery speed, elevate the customer experience and support stronger execution as we move through the year. Despite the operational challenges in the first quarter, we saw year-over-year improvement in both adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share. A primary driver of that improvement was lower interest expense following repayment of the term loan in the quarter. And we have seen that momentum continue into the second quarter.

Q2 has started off well with positive revenue comps and ongoing new customer growth through and now post the important Memorial Day period, led by key categories, including swim, totes and men's. There are, of course, a few factors that make the first quarter more complex to read on the surface. We repositioned parts of our marketplace business to prioritize profitability over lower quality revenue, and that decision weighed on top line growth in the quarter, even as it improved the quality of our sales and flow-through of profitability. We also completed the creation of our joint venture with WHP Global during the quarter, an important strategic milestone that changes how certain elements of our P&L are presented.

Gross margin now reflects the additional cost of royalty payments under the license structure. Licensing royalty revenue is no longer reflected in our reported revenue and the benefit of our 50% share of JV profits is reflected in adjusted EBITDA. At the same time, elimination of our term loan materially lowers interest expense. Bernie will walk through these changes later in our call. Another factor affecting the quarter was tariffs. We continue to manage through that pressure, including booking at the higher rate currently in effect, while policy remains uncertain. Even with that headwind, we see encouraging evidence that the underlying margin structure of the business is improving.

When we put it all together, our view is clear, fiscal 2026 is positioned to deliver positive revenue growth. Our customer file is expanding with strength in younger cohorts, -- underlying merchandise margins are improving before the impact of tariffs and royalties and our operational footing is getting stronger. Just as important, we are guiding our adjusted EBITDA to grow versus 2025 on a like-for-like basis with further upside based on WHP Global unlocking more licensing value from the Lands' End brand. That is why we remain optimistic, energized and confident in the path ahead. Those themes show up clearly when we look at the first quarter across our businesses. Our core franchises continue to resonate.

Customer engagement improved and each part of the portfolio offer useful evidence that the strategic work underway is strengthening the foundation of the company. Turning to our U.S. consumer business. Our solutions-based products and franchises continue to resonate as the reliable anchors of the business. Women's apparel and swim delivered positive comps in the first quarter, driven by product and fit improvements that are also showing up in lower return rates, a testament to the success of our solution strategy and our product and merchandising teams. Swim also continues to benefit from our separate strategy and UPF 50 franchise.

Continuing a theme we've seen build over the past several years, totes were a standout, driving revenue and bringing new customers into the brand. The strong response to newness in the assortment, including our Canvas Dog Tote Carrier, reinforces our view that totes remain both a meaningful growth category and a powerful expression of the brand. And to put a finer point on it, there is no category that better showcases the strength of our embroidery and personalization offering. From an overall product perspective, heading into Q2, we feel good about the assortment and the print and color stories we have in place.

Our new CMO, Sarah Sylvester, who joined in March is already having a stellar impact, building on the success of our focus to better market the brand and reach new customers. New-to-brand customer acquisition was up low single digits in the quarter over last year, proof that we are and continuing to convert new customers. Social followership continued to increase by more than 30% year-over-year, and traffic was up mid-teens across U.S. digital channels with every channel showing growth. In addition to adding new customers, our product-led solutions-based approach continued to win across multigenerational customer segments. We are also continuing to lean into experiential marketing.

Recent swim-focused activations and our plans for another Nantucket pop-up build on the success we had there last year. These efforts are designed to put the brand in front of new customers in high affinity environments with one of our most important categories. In third-party marketplaces, we deliberately pulled back on promotional activity to prioritize profitability. Amazon performed well, and we remain focused on making our key items bigger on the platform. At Nordstrom, more full price selling in the quarter reinforces how we want the brand to be positioned in a premium retail environment. Our European business had a strong first quarter, and the top and bottom line results reflect disciplined execution.

The strategic shift to a franchise-first assortment simplifies the business, improves inventory efficiency and ensures our strongest programs anchor the range. Our focus on newness and solutions-based products resonated with our customers when they were ready to buy early in the season. Investment in a more localized consumer experience, European photography, more locally relevant content, resonated with customers. We also launched a charity tote collaboration with 4 prominent London-based designers to reimagine our signature canvas tote ahead of London Fashion Week, a brand moment that reinforced our relevance with a new and influential audience. Turning to our business-to-business offering, Lands' End Outfitters.

Outfitters had a strong quarter with demand led by national accounts, specifically our airline accounts, a channel where we have demonstrated expertise and leadership in meeting clients' exacting requirements. In schools, the timing of promotional activity shifted in the quarter, and we pulled back in February and April. We view this as a timing dynamic, not a demand issue and expect a portion of that volume to come back in Q2. Importantly, the pipeline remains healthy. Overall, underlying demand in our Outfitters business is strong. The pipeline is growing, and we see identifiable opportunities ahead in Q2 and beyond. I'll now turn it over to Bernie to discuss our first quarter performance in more detail.

Bernard McCracken: Thank you, Andrew. For the first quarter, total revenue was $239 million, a decrease of 9% compared to Q1 2025. That result was driven primarily by the temporary disruption associated with the rollout of our new warehouse management system and the deliberate pacing of shipments as we ramped our distribution centers back to normal capacity. Importantly, that disruption was timing related rather than demand related. And excluding its impact, we would have expected low single-digit revenue growth in the quarter. We delivered adjusted EBITDA of negative $6 million, down $16 million from the prior year, reflecting the shipment timing disruption, the effect of the new royalty structure following the WHP Global transaction and continued tariff pressure.

Our U.S. e-commerce business decreased 10% compared to Q1 2025, reflecting the temporary disruption tied to the rollout of our new warehouse management system across our distribution centers. That issue is behind us, and we expect to return to positive comps in Q2. Sales from Lands' End Outfitters decreased 10% from Q1 2025, while Outfitters results were also affected by the distribution center upgrades. Absent those issues, we would have had positive sales comps, and we continue to feel good about the underlying demand environment, the order book and the pipeline heading into the balance of the year. Third-party marketplace revenue decreased 6%.

The decline was mainly driven by a strategic focus on higher-margin, higher-quality sales, prioritizing brand integrity over lower value promotion-driven volume. Performance on Amazon remained solid, and we were encouraged by the level of full price selling in premium environments such as Nordstrom. As a result, while this strategy weighed on reported revenue, it improved the quality of the business and supports healthier margin flow-through over time. In our European e-commerce business, our transformation work is continuing. Sales grew 15% versus last year and profitability improved with gross margin increasing approximately 70 basis points in the first quarter.

Gross profit in the first quarter decreased 16% versus the prior year, and gross margin was down 47%, approximately 410 basis points year-over-year. That decline was driven principally by the deleverage created by the temporary distribution center disruption the new royalty structure associated with the WHP Global joint venture and continued tariff headwinds. At the same time, the underlying merchandise margin of the business remained healthy, supported by our solutions-focused merchandising strategy, disciplined promotional posture and better product mix. SG&A increased $3 million year-over-year and as a percentage of net revenue increased approximately 570 basis points. This reflected a combination of the fixed cost deleverage from lower reported revenue and the ongoing investment in marketing and brand building.

Adjusted net loss for the quarter was $4 million or $0.11 per share compared to adjusted net income of $5 million or $0.18 per share in the prior year. While those comparisons reflect a complex quarter, we believe they do not fully capture the underlying momentum in demand, the benefits of the new structure or the earnings power of the business as operations normalize. Turning to the balance sheet. Inventory at the end of the first quarter was $300 million compared to $262 million a year ago. That increase primarily reflects the timing effects of the distribution center ramp-up and the impact of tariffs on inventory costs.

As operations normalize and inventory flow improves, we expect inventory levels to become better aligned with demand and with our revenue trajectory. In terms of our debt, we ended the first quarter with $30 million in ABL borrowings compared to $40 million last year. As previously announced, we used the majority of the $300 million in cash proceeds from the WHP Global transaction to fully repay our term loan, leaving us with enhanced liquidity and significantly reduced interest payments. The remainder of the transaction consideration was used for transaction-related and other corporate expenses.

Finally, in conjunction with the April 1 closing of the WHP Global transaction, our Board authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of common stock through March 31, 2029. As we will discuss in more detail shortly, with a strong balance sheet and this authorization in place, we have meaningful flexibility to evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including returning capital to shareholders. We will provide second quarter and full year 2026 guidance in the next section of this call. With that, I'll turn it back to Andrew.

Andrew McLean: Thanks, Bernie. We'll now turn to a broader discussion of our strategy and outlook following the completion of the transformational JV we created with WHP Global and the opportunity for shareholder value it created going forward. I'll be referring to the slides, which are now on the screen of this webcast and can also be found on our Investor Relations website. Beginning on Slide 3, we want to spend a moment clearly laying out the strategic and financial rationale for the JV and importantly, how it translates into multiple reinforcing drivers of shareholder value.

First, in April, we completed the creation of the JV, which included Lands' End contributing our intellectual property in exchange for $300 million in gross proceeds from WHP Global. Lands' End and WHP each have 50% ownership of the JV with WHP having a controlling interest. We believe this transaction drove immediate value for our shareholders, both indirectly and directly. The $300 million of proceeds from WHP enabled us to immediately pay our term loan in full, deleveraging the balance sheet and fundamentally changing our financial position. This is a step change, not an incremental improvement in financial flexibility.

In addition, WHP Global completed a tender offer for approximately $100 million in Lands' End shares at a purchase price of $45 per share available to all shareholders to realize near-term value creation. WHP's acquisition of approximately 7% of Lands' End at a substantial premium signals their commitment to the future success and growth of our company. Under the long-term license agreement with the JV, Lands' End will pay the JV annual royalties of at least $50 million, and we will receive half of all JV profits on a quarterly basis.

These profits will come from the royalties we pay, the growth of Lands' End's existing licenses, which were contributed to the JV as well as the growth of the brand with new licenses. The expansion possibilities available to the JV create a highly attractive revenue stream, creating a recurring, high-quality source of earnings with the JV expected to operate with EBITDA margins of no less than 85%. By partnering with WHP Global, we believe Lands' End is now positioned as a brand to grow faster and more profitably than it could have on a stand-alone basis.

This is because WHP is a proven global licensing platform with a track record of scaling brands across new categories, new geographies and new partners. In just a moment, I'll discuss the JV's early wins. Finally, the opportunity to exchange our stake into WHP Global equity creates a unique and powerful second layer of value for shareholders should WHP execute a monetization event, such as a sale or an IPO, Lands' End may exchange our stake in the JV for equity in WHP Global at the same multiple that WHP receives in the monetization event. Importantly, scaled brand management companies like WHP typically command materially higher valuation multiples than traditional retailers.

This creates the opportunity for Lands' End shareholders to effectively step up into a higher multiple business through the exchange event. When you step back, this transaction delivers multiple layers of value, immediate value realization, balance sheet transformation, accelerated high-margin licensing growth, growing royalty income platform and high multiple upside opportunity. These are additive, not alternative drivers of shareholder value. Turning to Slide 5. We've outlined here the 4 key levers to drive value for all Lands' End shareholders. First, as I just referenced, the significant financial flexibility we have following the completion of the JV transaction represents a fundamental reset of our financial position.

By eliminating our term loan debt in full, we strengthened our financial position while shedding debt covenants that previously limited our ability to execute on strategies that could grow shareholder value. Second, key to our success over the years has been the strength of our direct-to-consumer business and our B2B platform, Lands' End Outfitters. Across both businesses, we operate highly capable, digitally enabled platforms that when paired with ongoing strategic focus and cost discipline, provide the operating foundation to support future growth, cash generation and shareholder value creation. Third, -- following the completion of the JV transaction, the Lands' End Board authorized a $100 million share repurchase program through March 2029.

This is a clear and deliberate capital allocation option aligned with shareholder value creation. At current prices, this authorization represents the ability to repurchase a significant portion of shares outstanding. Programs at this scale are often associated with both EPS accretion and multiple expansion over time. Importantly, we now have the financial flexibility to act opportunistically when we believe our stock is trading below its intrinsic value. Finally, as I referenced earlier, the ability for Lands' End to exchange our JV stake for equity in WHP Global in a potential WHP monetization event presents compelling and unique upside opportunity. This is a highly differentiated component of our equity story, one that is not typically reflected in traditional retail valuations.

Now turning to our commercial strategy on Slide 6. Consistent with the JV agreement, Lands' End will continue to do what it does best and operate its portions of the Lands' End business under a long-term license agreement with the JV. This model creates 2 complementary growth engines. Lands' End is focused on operating, driving its consumer businesses through its websites, serving the needs of enterprises with Outfitters and day-to-day positioning and delivery of Lands' End through other digital channels such as marketplaces. The joint venture is focused on extending the brand, unlocking higher-margin licensing growth across new categories, partners and geographies. Together, they expand both the earnings power and the strategic reach of the Lands' End brand.

Our direct-to-consumer business remains the core of the Lands' End operating model. Through our digital channels in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany as well as marketplace partners, including Amazon, Nordstrom, Kohl's, Macy's and Target, we meet customers where they are and serve them with a solutions-based customer-first assortment. Across this business, we are expanding our customer file, improving new-to-brand acquisition and strengthening gross margin by emphasizing higher quality, full price selling rather than chasing lower value promotional volume. Next, our B2B business, Lands' End Outfitters, provides branded apparel and uniform solutions to national accounts, Fortune 500 companies, small and midsized businesses and more than 5,000 U.S. schools. Outfitters is a competitively differentiated business with a long runway ahead.

We win by combining the strength of the Lands' End brand with market-leading embroidery and personalization capabilities, service levels customers trust and a platform that supports recurring demand across attractive markets. Importantly, these operating businesses are the Lands' End cash flow engine. They fund reinvestment in product, marketing, technology and customer experience. They support disciplined capital return and they provide the earnings base from which we can create value as the JV adds incremental high-margin growth. In other words, Lands' End and the JV are designed to work together. The operating company drives durable commerce and cash generation, while the JV extends the reach and monetization of the brand.

Now that we've discussed this transaction and our operating model, it's important to highlight the growth drivers that strengthen Lands End, support cash generation and position the company to deliver long-term shareholder value. Beginning on Slide 7. On the top left is the strategy you've heard us talk about before, one that has been greatly accelerated through the JV with WHP Global. Together, we're partnering to expand the Lands' End brand into new categories, new channels and international markets where we do not currently operate. WHP Global brings a terrific track record when it comes to licensing high-caliber brands, and we have great confidence in their ability to drive success with the Lands' End brand.

This strategy is now materially accelerated through WHP's platform. Shifting to the right, another core growth driver is our solutions-driven product strategy. We build the brand to be ready for life's every journey with franchises that solve real customer needs and keep Lands' End relevant across the arc of the year. In outerwear, we are focused on owning the weather through standard programs like Squall, Wanderweight and Anyweather. In swim, Tugless, Slender and our new SlenderLite Suits extend that same solutions leadership into a category where Lands' End has been a market leader for more than a decade by bridging fashion, technology, fit and function. Our tote franchise tells the same story.

It is iconic, functional and a true wardrobe staple and the business continues to grow double digits. Just as important, totes are the #1 item purchased by new-to-file customers who are younger than our existing customers, making the category both a significant revenue driver and one of the strongest entry points into the brand. Moving down the slide and picking up on that theme, our customer relationship remains a distinctive advantage with the average customer relationship spanning 20 years, and we continue to bring in new customers who show strong loyalty once they enter the brand.

There is also real connectivity across our divisions, a school uniform mom can become a DTC customer, then shop with her child over time, reinforcing the lifetime value cycle that makes the Lands' End customer model so powerful. Finally, on the bottom right of the slide, underpinning everything we do to drive performance is our continued focus on world-class operational execution. First, we're continuing to invest in and grow our 2 digitally native businesses, our DTC and B2B platform, leaning into the franchises and solutions that are clearly resonating with customers. Second, we are deploying AI and advanced analytics to sharpen our marketing with a focus on reaching the right customers at the right moment with greater precision and efficiency.

Third, we are deepening our personalization capabilities to deliver a stronger digital experience, strengthen customer loyalty and convert onetime buyers into repeat customers. These are active areas of investment and focus, and we believe the progress we make here will be meaningful drivers of the company's future performance. Moving to Slide 9. Our intellectual property joint venture with WHP Global closed on April 1, 2026. And in roughly 60 days, we have already seen clear evidence of the platform's potential.

The JV has agreed to consolidate and extend 3 licenses with our largest apparel licensee to create 1 license through 2033 at meaningfully higher guaranteed minimum royalties, reached an agreement in principle to extend our footwear partnership by 7 years and selected a new home textiles partner after a competitive process. Together, these actions are expected to drive more than $150 million of long-term guaranteed royalty value to the JV over the term of these agreements with additional opportunities active across more than a dozen new categories and international markets. Just as important, WHP Global continues to expand its brand platform with real ambition, validating our choice of partner.

This recently announced definitive agreement to acquire Marc Jacobs from LVMH increases WHP's global retail sales to more than $9.5 billion annually and further strengthens its position in premium fashion. That matters to Lands' End because our exchange option gives shareholders exposure not only to the growth of our brands within the JV, but also to the value creation potential of a scaling increasingly strategic platform. Taken altogether, these updates reinforce the strategic value of the joint venture and give us even greater confidence in the long-term opportunity with WHP Global. Bernie, over to you.

Bernard McCracken: I'll take Slide 11, where we reset the baseline for how to think about Lands' End financially following the creation of the joint venture. What we've done here is recast our fiscal 2025 results as if the JV structure had been in place for the entire year. And similarly, we used the proceeds to pay off the term loan. This is an important step to provide investors with a clear comparable starting point as we move forward. At a high level, there are 4 key changes to call out in this exercise. First, on revenue. Reported revenue declined modestly by approximately $18 million.

This reflects the fact that certain licensing revenues are no longer recorded within Lands' End as those rights now sit with the JV. Second, at the gross profit level, you see a more significant change. Gross profit decreases by about $83 million and gross margin declined from 49% to 43%. This is primarily due to the introduction of royalty payments that Lands' End now makes to the JV under the long-term license agreement. Third, and importantly, you begin to see the offset from the new structure in other income, which now includes our 50% share of JV profits. That contribution adds approximately $37 million in this recast view.

When you put these elements together, adjusted EBITDA shifts from $102 million to $56 million. While that is a lower absolute level, it's critical to emphasize that this is largely a structural reclassification rather than a reflection of weaker underlying economic. Finally, and just as important, below the line, the benefits of the transaction become very clear. Interest expense declined dramatically from roughly $37 million to just over $4 million as a result of fully repaying the term loan with the proceeds from the JV transaction. So while adjusted net income and EPS are modestly lower in this recast view, the company is now operating with significantly reduced leverage, materially lower interest burden and a more flexible capital structure.

Stepping back, the key takeaway from this slide is straightforward. We are establishing a new financial baseline that reflects a hybrid model where Land's End generates cash through consumer digital and Outfitters, while the joint venture provides a growing high-margin royalty stream through licensing. This framework is what underpins our outlook for improving earnings quality, stronger cash generation and long-term shareholder value creation. Now turning to guidance on Slide 12. Our guidance reflects current conditions, including tariffs at currently implemented rates and prevailing macroeconomic factors.

For the second quarter, we expect net revenue to be between $290 million to $310 million, adjusted net income of $2 million to $5 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.06 to $0.16 and our adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $11 million to $14 million. Turning to full year. We expect net revenue to be between $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, adjusted net income of $10 million to $20 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.32 to $0.65 and our adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $68 million to $78 million. Our guidance for the full year incorporates approximately $40 million in capital expenditures.

Let me shift now to our 3-year targets, which we view as a separate but important way to frame the earnings power of the business under the new model. Starting with revenue, we are targeting mid-single-digit annual growth over this period. It's important to emphasize that this growth is expected to be driven primarily by our core operating businesses, specifically continued expansion in direct-to-consumer and Outfitters. We see opportunity to grow through increased customer acquisition and retention, strength in key product franchises and continued momentum in our B2B platform. Turning to profitability. We expect to deliver a growing adjusted EBITDA margin reaching the high single digits over time.

That margin expansion is supported by improved merchandise margins, disciplined cost management, operating leverage as the business scales and increasing contribution from high-margin JV profit streams. And importantly, underpinning both our growth and margin outlook is the step change in financial flexibility we've achieved following the JV transaction. With a stronger balance sheet and significantly reduced interest burden, we now have greater capacity to allocate capital deliberately and consistently in support of shareholder value creation. That includes reinvestment in the business to support profitable growth, maintaining a disciplined cost structure and executing against our authorized share repurchase program when we see compelling value.

So while revenue growth is driven by the core business, the combination of financial flexibility, capital allocation discipline and high-margin JV economics positions us to deliver high-quality earnings and stronger long-term returns to shareholders. Back to you, Andrew.

Andrew McLean: Thanks, Bernie. We want to spend a few minutes walking through how Lands' End realizes value from the JV today and the potential additional upside embedded in the exchange option over time. On Slide 13, the framework is straightforward. There are 2 complementary sources of value from the JV, recurring royalty cash flow and event-driven equity upside. First, the JV generates royalty income from the Lands' End operating company from new licenses added over time. Because Lands' End owns 50% of the JV, we receive 50% of those profits on a quarterly basis, net of expenses. That creates a recurring, high-quality earnings stream that grows as the brand expands.

Second, in the event of a qualifying WHP global monetization event, Lands' End may or in some cases, be obligated to exchange its JV stake for equity in WHP Global at the same valuation multiple implied by that transaction. Because scaled brand management companies like WHP often command materially higher multiples than traditional retailers, this creates a meaningful second layer of potential value. Put simply, the JV can create value in 2 ways: through cash earnings we receive along the way and through the equity value that could be realized in a potential monetization event. Slide 14 is intended to show what the second source of value could mean under various illustrative assumptions. Now turning to Slide 14.

This is one of the most important slides in the presentation because it illustrates how a potential WHP monetization event could translate into additional value for Lands' End shareholders beyond the recurring royalty stream we discussed on the prior slide. The mechanics are straightforward. Lands' End owns 50% of the JV and in certain qualifying WHP monetization events such as a sale or an IPO, we may exchange that JV stake for equity in WHP Global. The value of that exchange would be based on the JV's EBITDA at the time of the event and the valuation multiple implied by the WHP transaction.

Put differently, if the JV grows meaningfully and WHP is valued at a premium multiple in a monetization event, Lands' End could participate in that upside through the exchange option. To illustrate the range of outcomes, we've modeled 2 scenarios using different assumptions for JV EBITDA and the monetization multiple. In the first scenario, assuming JV EBITDA of $100 million on a trailing 12-month basis and determined in accordance with our LLC agreement and a 13x monetization multiple, the JV would be valued at approximately $1.3 billion. Lands' End's 50% share of that value would be approximately $650 million, which equates to roughly $22 per Lands' End share.

In the second scenario, assuming JV EBITDA of $150 million and a 15x monetization multiple, the JV value would rise to approximately $2.25 billion. Lands' End's 50% share would be approximately $1.1 billion or about $38 per Lands' End share. These scenarios are illustrative and actual outcomes will depend on the timing and terms of any potential monetization event. But the purpose of this slide is clear to show that the exchange option could represent a meaningful and currently under reflected component of Lands' End's value. We do not believe this is reflected in our current valuation, and we now have both the balance sheet flexibility and the repurchase authorization to respond when the disconnect is too wide.

Before we open the line for Q&A, I want to take a moment to bring together what we have covered today. We came into this call with a clear objective to give investors a fuller picture of where Lands' End is headed and why we believe the company is at a genuine inflection point. We have real momentum in the business, and we are executing against a clear and deliberate strategy. At its core, Lands' End remains fundamentally strong with underlying demand, growing new customer acquisition and improving engagement across key categories. We have created a business model that is now more flexible, less leveraged and better positioned to convert brand strength into earnings and cash flow.

At the same time, the WHP transaction has strengthened our investment case in multiple ways. We have realized immediate value through the $45 per share WHP tender offer, significantly deleveraged the balance sheet and created new avenues for long-term value creation through recurring JV profit participation and the exchange option. Additionally, our Board has authorized a $100 million share repurchase program. Taken together, we believe the opportunity in front of Lands' End has never been clearer. We have an iconic brand, durable customer relationships, differentiated operating platforms, improved fundamentals and a capital structure that now gives us the ability to invest in growth while also acting decisively on behalf of shareholders. To our shareholders, our message is straightforward.

We believe there is significant value in this company, and we are focused on driving shareholder value. We appreciate your support, and we take this responsibility seriously, and we are focused to deliver the progress and value creation opportunities we have outlined today. Finally, I want to thank all of our dedicated employees at Lands' End. Together, you've built a tremendous brand, and the results we've discussed today are a reflection of your commitment and hard work. With that, we are pleased to open the line for questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Dana Telsey with Telsey Advisory Group. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Dana Telsey: Hi. Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for the detailed presentation of the opportunities that lie ahead, which certainly are compelling. A couple of questions just on the now and in the future. On the now, in terms of current business trends, what you're seeing, is the distribution center warehouse management system update complete? Is there any hangover into Q2? And then tariffs and tariff refunds and how you're planning that? And then on the future, with the opportunities that WHP brings, particularly in licensing, how are the 2 of you ensuring that it's the quality that you want, design process? And how do you see the time line of when new license categories begin to evolve?

And what you -- in terms of the royalty stream, how you're thinking about it between the two of you? And then lastly, just on that $45 price, how did that come to be? Or how did that number come to be? What's the background? Or how did that get set up?

Andrew McLean: I'll get going, and Bernie can fill in. Current business trends are really pretty positive. I mean we said it in the call that we had seen positive comps not just through Memorial Day, but beyond Memorial Day. And actually, we're seeing a stronger swim season come together. There's been a trend in the market for the last couple of years for one pieces. We do see that continuing. Our big product launch for the spring was the SlenderLite Suit, and that's been very positively received. But actually, one of the things that we're seeing that I'm particularly pleased about because it really is in Land's End DNA are 2 pieces.

We put mix and match capabilities into the site that let you personalize a whole lot more. And frankly, they're a great solution and that they -- your top may be a medium and your bottom may be a small and we can accommodate you appropriately. And I think that continues to be very positive for us and a nice surprise. In terms of that, we've seen really good numbers coming out of our home business, our men's business and actually even our women's business. As it's warmed up, we've really seen the numbers also warm up and feel good about where Q2 is. With regard to tariffs, I mean, there's 2 parts to this.

There's the accounting of it and then there's the book part of it. And I would say, and I'll let Bernie speak to it, we have started to receive cash back from the government for the tariffs that were ruled illegal last year. And then for this year, we're just taking a very prudent stance. We're booking everything at 15%, so the higher rate and then realizing it as it comes in and right now at a lower rate, but we just stand ready to deal with that and really have built it into our operating model. We've done a lot of work around AUC to make sure that we have good margin structure that can see us through this.

We've done a lot of editing our line and making sure that it's more balanced and more concentrated. And actually, we continue to reduce the number of factories that we source to. That's been something that I've been working on since I joined the company. And I think with Matt DelVecchio coming in as our Head of Sourcing, we'll continue to see that reduce further. Before I go on to the future questions, I'm just going to see if there are any sort of...

Bernard McCracken: Yes. I think the only thing I'd add on the tariffs is when Andrew talks about us consolidating our supply chain, what we've done is we've gone with many larger manufacturers who have very flexible supply chains and can move between countries so that as there is challenges in tariffs in one country, we're able to move that production to a different country with the same vendor with the same timing, and that's been very positive for us. And as Andrew talked about, been very positive for our average unit cost of product.

Andrew McLean: Thank you, Bernie. Turning to the future and your questions there, Dana. I mean, first of all, let's just get to the emotional side of it. We ran a long process, and we found the partner that best match Lands' End, and that was WHP. So we see the world from the same perspective, and we see their ambition and vision and it meshes with us. If you look at the Marc Jacobs deal, that's a big push forward for a scaled brand management company like WHP. And so if that's their direction, that's the direction we saw during the joint venture negotiations. And I think that speaks volumes to how we will go forward.

From a more practical standpoint, obviously, we have a governance solution in place where -- we sit -- I sit along with my Chair, Josephine, on the Board of the IP company, along with Yehuda, Stanley, and Effie. So we're able to meet on a regular basis and ensure the brand goes forward right. And then fundamentally, once you get below that, and this is part of our agreement and again, part of why we bought into WHP as such a great partner for us. They talk about Lands' End, HQ, what we represent and what Bernie and I were discussing this morning and all of the design comes out there and all of the direction.

And they have been really great sort of tapping into the work that Kim and Sarah are doing, in particular, in the consumer brand to make sure that we're really staying on brand and the story is consistent, and we don't end up with some weird looking brand that grows around the world. So that's been excellent. I think the time line for new licenses, we should expect to see new licenses really start to kick off next year, if I'm perfectly honest. There's a lot of work going on right now. And I think we mentioned that there's probably a dozen or so in the pipeline, licenses in the pipeline that Yehuda and his team are working on.

And we're very excited about those and doing our part to help to bring them to market. In terms of how we look at those royalty streams coming in, we're very thoughtful about how we balance that out. how we put that into the numbers. And we looked at various business cases. And the one we presented to you, I would say, is the most realistic and then I'll let Bernie give his comments on it.

Bernard McCracken: Yes. I think I'd also like to start with on -- when you talked about the time line of opportunities. What WHP started with is renegotiating the current licenses we have, and they've been able to extend the terms of those licenses and increase the total amount of GMR, which we stated in our presentation, which I think is a big first step and shows what benefits they're going to start applying to this. As far as the royalty streams go, we already had the Lands' End licensing team already had some new licenses in line, and those stuff will start coming in -- we will start producing royalties in the fall.

And then we expect to see the WHP effect take effect in the next year, as Andrew stated.

Andrew McLean: And then I think to your last question on the $45 per share, Dana, I think I'd direct you to talk to Stanley and E at WHP as to why they make that. On a completely separate note, I'd point you to Page 10, where we looked at what a potential monetization event could be in an exchange. And scenario 2 is an incremental $38, which if you take that with our share price right now, puts you above that $45 threshold. That's how I would look at a number like that. But again, I can't speak for them.

I think that's -- I think as a conversation you should feel free to have with you who invest and you see them. But I think it all underpins the incredible amount of value that I think is achievable within the greater Lands' End world. Also, as I look at it, the opportunity that shareholders have is really to invest with Lands' End and participate in WHP's event. It's a great backdoor in for a regular investor that isn't necessarily available with WHP being private and part of a private equity company. So there's some upsides in there that I think merit further exploration that we feel really excited about.

Bernard McCracken: And Dana, just one last follow-up to one of the litany of questions you asked about the DC status. That is behind us. We have completed that implementation and are back on pace and shipping on time.

Andrew McLean: Yes, Dana, we switched WM on. And it's like how many of these calls if you've done where some have switched on Manhattan and they find themselves backlogged by weeks. We were backlogged by 1 week, and we've taken care of that.

Dana Telsey: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you.

Bernard McCracken: Thanks, Dana.

Operator: We'll move next with Marni Shapiro with The Retail Tracker. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Marni Shapiro: Hey, guys. So before I ask about product, which is really my favorite conversation, could you just clarify one thing about the JV? Any licenses that Yehuda will do for the brand, do you have -- I don't want to say control, but like at least a red stamp so that they -- we don't see something crazy or they don't set up shop with a huge display in the front of Walmart selling Lands' End grapefruits or something weird?

Andrew McLean: That's a great question, Marni. We have a 50-50 joint venture. which is our IP company, the licenses are within that. It is controlled by WHP. There are some instances where we have rights over where the brand can go, and they should address exactly what you're talking about so that if things went crazy, we wouldn't end up in a place where we didn't think it was right for the brand. And I think there's an understanding that bears reiterating that has come through that we very much see the world in the same way. We see growth opportunities for Lands' End around the world in categories and in channels.

And I think that there are so many of those to go get that we're not really going to get into a conversation about the brand being diluted -- and again, I come back to it, Lands' End was an important deal for WHP to do. That's an important marker for its portfolio. And the stepping stone from there was to Marc Jacobs. So you can see the trajectory that Yehuda and his team are taking. And I think that speaks volumes to the ambition that we have for this joint venture.

Marni Shapiro: And -- but Marc Jacobs isn't part of -- Marc Jacobs part of the joint venture? I mean I understand that you would participate in -- the joint venture would participate in WHP's success, but it -- and Lands' End then gets a percentage from that. Is that how it works?

Andrew McLean: That's right. So WHP as an event, whatever multiple that they have that are 50% of our joint venture will convert at that EBITDA multiple, and then we'll receive that back. may convert.

Marni Shapiro: Right. Yes, yes. Right. And then just to clarify one last thing. If you are watching -- you're watching your stock, you don't like the valuation. It's trading at you now have the ability to buy back shares and/or at some point, like if you feel like the valuation has been -- has not been fair for 6 months, you can turn to WHP and say, all right, let's do the sale. And is that an opportunity? Is that sort of the floor that you're putting at for the company?

Andrew McLean: No. specifically, we've given ourselves $100 million to go out and buy our stock in case we think it's undervalued. I mean we look at it and I point you to Page 10. We think that the exchange mechanism for us is worth an incredible amount of money. We don't necessarily believe that's reflected in our share price right now. And we do want it to be reflected in our share price, and we have the ammunition from our Board to go after it to get that value for our shareholders. In terms of the ability to back out or buy into it, no, this mechanism is a one-way mechanism where we will stay in partnership with WHP.

We believe in this for the long term.

Marni Shapiro: Okay. That makes sense. Perfect. And then could we just talk about 2 other things. You talked about the marketplaces, which you have with Target, Macy's, Nordstrom and then B2B as both growth vehicles. I guess if I was ranking the 2, is the B2B the bigger opportunity right now? Or is it kind of equally split?

Andrew McLean: B2B is an amazing opportunity. Don't get me wrong. I'll take all the opportunities out there, Marni. I think that we can continue -- I'm going to be greedy and ambitious for Lands' End. I think that B2B, we never give it enough airtime. But the reality of it is that's an incredibly powerful business for us going forward, and it touches so many different avenues because we split it into a couple of pieces. The school uniform continues to be really powerful for us. We're the largest player in the school uniform market. We service over 5,000 schools.

And I think the opportunity is almost unlimited to grow that, particularly as we see school uniforms being such a strong future trend. It's important that we stay with that. And we've really refined that model. I'm going to go to plug in for the team now. I mean everything we do for the school uniforms is done with OEKO?TEX. So you can send your kids to school in the knowledge that they're not wearing any chemicals in their uniforms that haven't been tested or could harm them. These are the best uniforms in the market. We have a similar approach when it comes to the commercial uniforms.

And the goal there is to continue to build with our big partners and then offer a full-service sort of self-service model increasingly to mid- and smaller-sized companies. And I think that if you look at the growth in the market space of B2B, there's one thing that is really absent brands. We bring a really strong brand and have a really strong brand positioning that I think can really enable and empower us to grow. So I'm greedy for both, but I do really want to call out that B2B business. It's an incredible business.

Marni Shapiro: And then can I sneak in one more?

Bernard McCracken: The products...

Marni Shapiro: Is greatly improved. I mean the women's has looked so amazing this spring. And you guys are right there on the trends, but with a lens from Lands' End, which I really appreciate. And I'm on your site all the time. And sometimes I question, why are you so promotional? I know it's very hard to pull that needle, but there are times where I'm on the site and I'm looking at some of this great product, and I'm thinking you don't need to discount this. But is it a process to get away from that? Or is it priced with the intention of that because at the end of the day, in the U.S., people want to deal.

Andrew McLean: Thank you, Marni. First of all, it's great that you're on our site. It's great that you like our product. I know you and your mom will both wear it, so you are perfect intergenerational customers. And that just -- that's exactly what we're looking for. I put everything into a 2x2 grid and the sort of like there's new and 5x customers and the 5x customers are the ones who've been with us for 20 years on one axis and then along the other axis, there's like full price and discount pricing. And it's the weighting of it, Marni, in that we've got a lot of customers who've been with us for years.

And so we do tend to adopt more of a high-low strategy. So it's not that we build the product and then we suddenly find we have to discount it and give it away when you get on the site and you see those offers. Part of the secret sauce is that we've built our margins around that. And so that 5x customer who's the preponderance of our customers still, they really like the deal. And so they get a great deal, and we make plenty of margin in it. I can't say that we don't work on it every day to improve it, we do. But that's the model.

Marni Shapiro: Makes sense. Congrats. Best of luck for the spring season -- summer season, I guess.

Andrew McLean: Yes. Hey, thank you. Take care. We'll talk soon.

Operator: Thank you. We will move next with Eric Beder with Small Cap Consumer Research. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Eric Beder: Good morning. Can we talk a little bit -- a few things here. First of all, we've seen continued emphasis on kind of leveraging the embroidery and the customization for the consumer to get them to kind of, I guess, buy more product and kind of shift even more to a lifestyle brand. I mean, how much are you looking upon that? I know you've always done it with totes. But now when you're looking at the catalogs, you can see pretty much with every product and a push. And is that bringing in kind of a different or better customer?

Andrew McLean: Okay. I'll take that one. And is this -- you try to complete your bingo card and get me to say sausage dog again? I would say that we think that we have a competitive advantage in that we are the largest embroiderer in the United States. And we think that personalization is one of the most important trends out there. And so our choice has been to lean into it. And actually, what we're really doing is we're putting machines to work. We have -- I think you've been to our distribution facility, Eric. We have hundreds of these machines, and we have a staff that are well and smartly able to use them.

And we have started to run basically a light manufacturing process with our systems and our processes that allow us to get more throughput. It's value added to the customer. It's value-added to us because there's an incremental cost that comes with it. And I think that it gives the customer choices in how they want to be seen and how they want to present themselves and how much they want to spend. So the entry price points for a tote bag may be great, but you can certainly make it into your own with a whole customization kit that actually goes beyond embroidery and we can give you chains, pearls, doodads, whatever you want to put on it.

And so yes, it's a concerted strategy. It has incredible reach. It takes -- and it works on both the customers that customer groups that I was just talking to Marni about. So it's our new to our new-to-brand customers, they tend to find it in social. That's become very powerful for us. And social is about your own personalized feed, the algorithm interacts with you and you interact with it. And so we're able to really give you that breadth of personalization that you're seeking. And then for our 5x customer, who tends to be more of a value seeker, that's that long-term customer.

Again, we give them opportunities to buy the products at a price that they like that then customize on top of it and that allows us to build margin, give us that differentiation and move the whole customer cohort upwards.

Bernard McCracken: And Eric, we also create leverage because we require to have all that infrastructure for our B2B business. So by then leveraging that into our D2C business, we're just getting extra benefit from those machinery.

Eric Beder: Great. So it's a great leverage tool. When you look at you talked about the freedom to now pursue more share repurchases than you were before under the prior debt agreement. I guess the other piece here is that I know Lands' End hasn't done this, but you now have, I guess, the potential to acquire other brands and look at other companies to invest in also. Is that part of a long-term kind of playbook here, too, that you can leverage kind of the infrastructure you've built that way?

Andrew McLean: Yes. As we build away from the transaction and build out cash, we've never been in a position really where we've been able to reach out and deploy capital where it might make the best sense for the best return for our shareholders. And we now have the latitude to do that, and we will do that. So if it makes sense to buy the stock, we will buy the stock back. If it makes sense to go out and acquire a complementary company, we will go out and acquire a complementary company. And I think that, that's a great place for us to be in that many paths to valuation have opened up for us.

And then you sort of like layer on top of it, we've got this option or exchange component if and when WHP has an event is a third stream of value for us that I just think is incredibly powerful for shareholders and potential investors in the Land stock.

Eric Beder: And then obviously, with the partnership, you have the same ability to use structures like the recent Marc Jacobs deal they did with GI. They bring that flow in there, too.

Andrew McLean: Yes. I think that retail is obviously changing a lot. I've talked about this before. Things have -- things in the industry are not so cut and dry as they were. And I think that we're all looking for different ways to unlock value for our shareholders. And the deal that we did and then I think subsequently a version of it has come to pass between WHP and Marc Jacobs, we'll see more of that because I think that we all bring certain skills to the table. We all have certain investor profiles. I think the opportunity is to look for like-minded partners and like-minded companies where we can amplify that and drive shareholder value.

Eric Beder: Great. When you look at the international business, could you -- I know that you've been expanding in France and Germany. How should we think about the potential -- the potential of those and how that's moving forward and the potential now in the new structure to continue kind of the European expansion? Or is that going to be part of the licensing?

Andrew McLean: I think it's going to be a hybrid. I think that it is going to be a hybrid. There are -- we have certain rights to markets, particularly digital marketplaces in the countries that you've mentioned. And then our joint venture with WHP has rights to different components of retail in some different countries in there. It doesn't mean that we won't go to market together. It doesn't mean that we won't assess some of those opportunities to take within the 4 walls of land. But I think that there's is opportunity. And if we call it out specifically, it has been a very strong first half so far for Germany.

We've been very pleased to see what's going on in that market. The customer has really embraced where we're taking the brand. The brand looks different than it's been. We've really made a conscious decision to get away from our traditional cataloging routes. That doesn't mean that we're not sending catalogs out, but it means that we're coming to market in a more branded way, attracting newer customers and really looking to leverage our brand strengths versus maximize with the customers we had. If I contrast that, the U.K., it's been harder. I think the economy is a little more challenged. In the U.K., there is more uncertainty in the U.K.

But even in saying that, we've continued to see positive comps in there through the first quarter and into the second. So I remain quietly optimistic that we're going in the right direction with our franchise product that we have in place geared towards new and existing customers and really being about a more aspirational brand that fits the consumer's life much as we've done in the U.S. But again, as I've talked about in the past, elevating it along the way so that it creates a halo for our brand in the U.S.

Eric Beder: Great. Last one. You've talked a lot about the changes in the DC and how they impacted negatively impacted. What going forward will the upgrade that you've done in the DC drive help improve the business going forward?

Andrew McLean: Okay. It's a lot of questions this morning, Eric. They're all good questions. The DC -- by moving to the Manhattan warehouse management system, we've been able to make the distribution center in real time. So we can actually complete and fulfill orders within the day. So we pick up a day for our customers. And that's really important because that cuts down our delivery time for a standard order roughly 20% to 25% -- and I think that's an important enabler.

It also opens us up to a future where we are able to, for example, Prime badge our product on the website, I think to really leverage the Amazon network as we go forward that we haven't been able to do before. And then the third part is it really enables us to do a lot more work around embroidery and personalization that we've not been able to reach. So there are immediate improvements for the customer, and I think they'll only continue to grow. Thank you, Eric.

Eric Beder: Great. Congrats. Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Michael Kupinski with NOBLE Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Michael Kupinski: Thank you for the comprehensive detail on the company's transformation. A couple of quick questions. You mentioned the CapEx will be $40 million. What additional investments are required to complete the warehouse transformation? And I guess if you could just tell us what would maintenance CapEx, what would that look like?

Bernard McCracken: Sure. And welcome, Michael, to our calls. Most of that $40 million is actually our investment in SAP, which we will go live with next year. And then, of course, the WM, which is helping prepare us to be able to go on SAP going forward. From a maintenance standpoint, we will be setting a new baseline once we have SAP in place, and then we will be able to set that baseline. But our expectations are after SAP is in place and we have that fully run rate built in that we will be at $20 million or less.

Michael Kupinski: Got you. And the gross margin decline of 400 basis points, how much of that was attributable to the distribution disruptions, tariffs? What gross margin level should investors expect once the operations are fully normalized?

Bernard McCracken: Right. As you would be aware, the tariffs were not in place in the product last year in the first quarter. So all tariffs are extra in Q1. So there's a run rate there that is affected that we have now hopefully mitigated going forward. And then, of course, with the distribution disruption, there was costs that were incurred, but the product -- the revenue was not recorded. So we will expect to be flat on a like-for-like basis. But now when you build in, if you look at the resetting the baseline and you build in the royalties from the WHP deal, you'll be able to calculate what that variance will be running forward.

It was 500 basis points, 600 basis points when you do the resetting of the baseline. And that will be an effective rate for the most part going forward from the effect of the WHP deal.

Andrew McLean: So I think, Michael, you should -- if you look at Page 7, that's what Greg is referring to. We've got that -- we recast 2025. We have the 43% margin in there. I think that sets the new base from which we'll work. And you should plan for your model for improvements on that annually.

Michael Kupinski: Got you. And then the increased inventory levels, how much of that was timing related? I know that you said that there was -- you think that there is a shift into Q2. I was just wondering if there -- if you could just -- I know there's some seasonality and things like that. But I mean, is there a way to kind of tell us a little bit about the shift that you were thinking...

Bernard McCracken: Sure. It's equal parts timing from the DC. It's equal parts tariffs compared to last year. And it's equal parts, we took a very conservative approach when tariff risk became part of the situation, and we reduced our inventory buys through that period. And we are now resetting back to our normal purchasing levels.

Michael Kupinski: Okay. Perfect. And in terms of the tariffs, are there additional mitigation actions that remain available? Or is that largely now complete?

Andrew McLean: We will continue to look at pricing opportunities to the consumer. We've passed -- I mean, roughly, and I know we haven't had the chance to meet Michael, but we took the view and we continue to take the view that the vendors would take about half the tariffs and then we would split the remainder between ourselves and the consumer, and that continues to be how we think about it going forward. So there is a piece of it that we're definitely going to have to eat and it will flow through the P&L, but that's reflected in the margin guidance that we've just given you.

Michael Kupinski: Okay. Perfect. And I just want to go back to the stock buyback one more time. I know that -- you indicated that the stock is currently trading well below intrinsic value. The repurchase authorization is nearly 1/3 of the current market capitalization of the company. What determines the pace of buybacks? And under what conditions are you -- would you become aggressively buyers of your stock?

Andrew McLean: I think that's something that we'll view in future calls. I think that's too early for us to get into at the moment. What I would say is that we have the ammunition. We are ready to use it. We believe that the stock price should be higher, and we will continue to make judgment calls on how we buy into that. And I think it's better that we spend more time on the future call, but that we have more time line grow about where you have seen the buybacks I would agree with you, $100 million would be a significant buyback. It would change our float materially. And actually, it would change the valuation of the company.

As we made comments in the main body of the presentation, we really would expect this to be something that drove our multiple. And as we saw the EPS increase, we'd expect an elevated stock price coming out of it just based on looking at how this has happened or transformed other companies. Okay. We are out of time. The market opens in 5 minutes. So Michael, we will look forward to speaking to you offline.

Operator: Thank you. This does conclude our Q&A session as well as our conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

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