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Related Party
6 Months Ended
Aug. 01, 2014
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]  
Related Party
RELATED PARTY AGREEMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS
According to statements on form Schedule 13D filed on April 8, 2014 and December 3, 2013 with the SEC by ESL Investments, Inc. and its investment affiliates, including Edward S. Lampert (collectively, “ESL”), ESL beneficially owned significant portions of both the Company's and Sears Holdings Corporation's outstanding shares of common stock. Therefore Sears Holdings Corporation, the Company's former parent company, is considered a related party both prior to and subsequent to the Separation.
Prior to the Separation, Sears Holdings Corporation (including certain of its non-Lands’ End subsidiaries) and the Company entered into various agreements to, among other things: (i) support the Lands’ End Shops at Sears; (ii) provide various general corporate services; (iii) the Company's participation in the Shop Your Way program; and (iv) allow for the use of intellectual property or services. The amounts charged to the Company by Sears Holdings do not necessarily reflect the costs of obtaining the services from unaffiliated third parties or of the Company providing the applicable services itself. Management believes that such costs are reasonable; however, the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements contained herein may not be indicative of the Company’s financial position, operating results, and cash flows in the future, or what they would have been if it had been a standalone company during all periods presented. Unless indicated otherwise, the fees and expense charged are included in Selling and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
In connection with the Separation, we entered into various agreements with Sears Holdings which, among other things, (i) govern specified aspects of our relationship following the Separation, especially with regards to the Lands’ End Shops at Sears, and (ii) establish terms pursuant to which subsidiaries of Sears Holdings Corporation are providing services to us.
References to and descriptions of the agreements below represent the agreements entered into as part of the Separation.  For descriptions of the agreements and the related allocation methodologies prior to the Separation, refer to Note 11 - Related Party in our 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The components of the transactions between the Company and Sears Holdings, which exclude passthrough payments to third parties, are as follows:
Lands’ End Shops at Sears
Related party costs charged by Sears Holdings to the Company related to Lands’ End Shops at Sears are as follows:
 
 
13 Weeks Ended
 
26 Weeks Ended
(in thousands)
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
Rent, CAM and occupancy costs
 
$
6,754

 
$
7,005

 
$
13,593

 
$
14,010

Retail services, store labor
 
7,662

 
8,383

 
15,309

 
16,710

Supply chain costs
 
222

 
740

 
505

 
1,461

Financial services and payment processing
 
700

 
722

 
1,431

 
1,395

Total expenses
 
$
15,338

 
$
16,850

 
$
30,838

 
$
33,576

Number of Lands’ End Shops at Sears at period end
 
247

 
275

 
247

 
275


Rent, CAM and Occupancy Costs
The Company rents space in store locations owned or leased by Sears, Roebuck and Co. (“Sears Roebuck”), a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. The agreements include a cost per square foot for rent, common area maintenance (“CAM”) and occupancy costs. The lease terms for the individual store locations generally terminate effective January 31, 2018, 2019, or 2020.
Retail Services, Store Labor
The Company contracts with Sears Roebuck to provide hourly labor and required systems and tools to service customers in the Lands’ End Shops at Sears. This includes dedicated staff to directly engage with customers and allocated overhead. The dedicated staff undergoes specific Lands’ End brand training. Required tools include point-of-sale, price lookup and labor scheduling systems.
Supply Chain Costs
The Company contracts with Sears Roebuck to provide logistics, handling, transportation and other services, primarily based upon inventory units processed, to assist in the flow of merchandise from vendors to the Lands’ End Shops at Sears locations.
Financial Services and Payment Processing
The Company contracts with Sears Holdings Management Corporation (“SHMC”), a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation, to provide retail financing and payment solutions, primarily based upon customer credit card activity, including third-party payment acceptance, credit cards and gift cards.
General Corporate Services
Related party costs charged by Sears Holdings to the Company for general corporate services are as follows:
 
 
 
13 Weeks Ended
 
26 Weeks Ended
(in thousands)
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
Sourcing
 
$
1,875

 
$
2,323

 
$
3,736

 
$
4,053

Shop Your Way
 
1,034

 
1,449

 
2,048

 
2,989

Shared services
 
126

 
86

 
259

 
175

Co-location and services
 
7

 
7

 
13

 
13

Total expenses
 
$
3,042

 
$
3,865

 
$
6,056

 
$
7,230


Sourcing
The Company contracts with Sears Holdings Global Sourcing, Ltd., a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation, to provide agreed upon buying agency services in foreign territories from where the Company purchases merchandise. These services, primarily based upon inventory levels, include quality-control functions, regulatory compliance, delivery schedule tracking, product claims management and new vendor identification. These amounts are included in Cost of sales in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Shop Your Way
The Company contracts with SHMC to participate in Sears Holdings’ Shop Your Way (“SYW”) member loyalty program. Customers earn points issued by SHMC on purchases which may be redeemed to pay for future purchases. The Company pays SHMC an agreed-upon fee for points issued in connection with purchases from the Company. Depending on the ratio of points redeemed in Lands’ End formats to points issued in Lands’ End formats in the previous 12 months, the Company generally either pays additional fees or is reimbursed fees by SHMC. For the 13 and 26 weeks ended August 1, 2014, the Company recorded an expense for additional fees payable to SHMC based on the formula above. All SYW member loyalty program expenses are recorded in Cost of sales in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations. In 2013, under the prior arrangements that governed the Company’s participation in the SYW program, as customers redeemed points on purchases, Sears Holdings reimbursed the Company through a redemption credit. The redemption credit was $2.0 million and $4.0 million for the 13 and 26 weeks ended August 2, 2013, respectively and was included in Merchandise sales and services, net in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Shared Services
The Company contracts with SHMC to provide certain shared corporate services. These shared services include financing services (which includes use of the Private Label Letter of Credit program), treasury services (including tax), shipping costs and compliance.
Co-Location and Services
The Company had contracted with SHMC to host and support certain redundant information technology hardware, software and operations at the Sears Data Center in Troy, Michigan for disaster mitigation and recovery efforts. In July 2014 the Company exited the Sears Data Center and completed the installation of the disaster mitigation and recovery systems at its Dodgeville location. The related contract with SHMC terminated on August 25, 2014.
Use of Intellectual Property or Services
Related party revenue charged by the Company to Sears Holdings for the use of intellectual property or services is as follows:
(in thousands)
 
13 Weeks Ended
 
26 Weeks Ended
 
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
 
August 1, 2014
 
August 2, 2013
Royalty income
 
$
35

 
$
31

 
$
47

 
$
44

Call center services
 
631

 
282

 
857

 
577

Gift card revenue
 
85

 
312

 
326

 
535

Credit card revenue
 
313

 
283

 
672

 
566

Other revenue
 
470

 
566

 
623

 
730

Total income
 
$
1,534

 
$
1,474

 
$
2,525


$
2,452


Royalty Income
The Company entered into a licensing agreement with SHMC whereby royalties are paid in consideration for sharing or use of intellectual property. Royalties received under this agreement are included in Merchandise sales and services, net in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Call Center Services
The Company has entered into a contract with SHMC to provide call center services in support of Sears Holdings’ SYW member loyalty program. This income is net of agreed upon costs directly attributable for the Company providing these services. The income is included in Merchandise sales and services, net and costs are included in Selling and administrative expenses in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Gift Card Revenue
The Company has entered into a contract with SHC Promotions LLC (“SHCP”), a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation, to provide gift certificates, gift cards and store credits (“Credits”) for use by the Company. The Company offers Credits for sale on behalf of SHCP and redeems such items on the Company’s internet websites, retail stores and other retail outlets for merchandise. The Company receives a commission fee on the face value for each Credit it sells, and a payment from Sears Holdings for certain Lands' End-branded Credits that are redeemed by Sears Holdings for non-Lands' End merchandise. The Company pays a transaction/redemption fee to SHCP for each Credit the Company redeems. The income net of associated expenses is included in Merchandise sales and services, net in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Credit Card Revenue
The Company has entered into a contract with SHMC to provide credit cards for customer sales transactions. The Company earns revenue based on the dollar volume of merchandise sales and receives a fee based on the generation of new credit card accounts. This income is included in Merchandise sales and services, net in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Other Revenue
The Company has entered into a contract with Sears Roebuck to sell all prior season inventory that has been marked out of stock. Sears Roebuck pays the Company a contracted rate for all out of stock inventory and liquidates the inventory on the Company's behalf. This income is included in Merchandise sales and services, net in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Statements of Comprehensive Operations.
Additional Balance Sheet Information
At August 1, 2014, the Company included $5.3 million and $10.4 million in Accounts receivable, net and Accounts payable, respectively, in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets to reflect amounts due from and owed to Sears Holdings. At August 1, 2014, a $13.9 million receivable was recorded by the Company in Other assets in the Condensed Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets to reflect the indemnification by Sears Holdings Corporation of the pre-Separation uncertain tax positions (including penalties and interest) for which Sears Holdings Corporation is responsible.