Lands’ End

Lands' End began as a mail-order yachting supply company in 1963 in Chicago. It was founded by Gary Comer, along with his partners, 1963 Pan American Games gold medalist sailors Richard Stearns and Robert Halperin, and two of Stearns' employees. As the business became successful, it expanded into general clothing and home furnishings, and moved to Dodgeville, Wisconsin in 1978. The company is named from its sailboat heritage after Land's End, but the misplaced apostrophe in the company name was a typographical error that Comer could not afford to change, as promotional materials had already been printed.