Kohl's Center for Retailing
The Trailblazers Collection. This slide contains the Willis & Geiger logo, Trailblazers Collection branding, and features the names of student presenters.
Lands' End logo in black bold font.

Willis and Geiger: The Trailblazers Collection

The revitalization of an iconic heritage brand:

Four School of Human Ecology students had an unprecedented learning opportunity: Teaming up with Lands’ End to help revitalize its heritage brand Willis & Geiger.

This one-of-a-kind project consisted of a business strategy pitch that included market research, tech flats (drawings that include information about the garment’s construction) and a visit to the Lands’ End archives. In May 2024, after more than three months of focused work, the student project team presented their proposal to Lands’ End executives with recommendations for moving the brand forward. Select pieces from the Willis & Geiger archives were available to the public in a gallery exhibition in Nancy Nicholas Hall in the Fall of 2024.

“These connections help students experience working with companies before even graduating. I truly feel that I would not have received this level of in-depth, personal care at another school.”

Ian Vailliencourt, Textile and Fashion Design '24

A Compelling Brand Pitch

Each team member’s work was different, playing on their specific strengths and interests. Rauh and Vailliencourt revamped the brand narrative for new audiences, developed product assortment and created tech flats. Koondel and Shenoi pieced together the brand history, market research, customer profiles, distribution strategy and pricing targets.

The Trailblazers Collection. This slide contains a Willis & Geiger logo, Trailblazers Collection branding, and features the names of student presenters.
This slide contains the brand narrative with a vintage photo of Hemingway and a quote about Willis & Geiger’s adventurous spirit.
The Legend of Willis and Geiger. This slide contains a timeline of Willis & Geiger’s history with key milestones and notable figures outfitted by the brand.
Brand identity. This slide contains brand identity keywords like “rugged,” “timeless,” and “trailblazing” displayed with corresponding designs and pictures.
What will Willis and Geiger be? This slide contains a comparison of historical and modern brand qualities, emphasizing heritage and sustainability.
Collection manifesto and goals. This slide contains a collection manifesto describing the Trailblazer Collection’s goal to bring adventure into everyday life.
Design Development. This slide contains pictures of sketches and functional details of garments like field shirts and fishing vests.
Core product assortment. This slide contains graphics of the core product assortment featuring an aviation jacket, utility pants, and field shirt.
Expanded product assortment. This slide contains sketches of an expanded product assortment that includes a fishing vest, bomber jacket, and reversible knit with playful graphics.
Accessories. This slide contains sketches of patchwork hats, product care kits, and customizable tool belts. Items that fall under the accessories category of the product line.
Fabric. This slide contains a fabric overview listing materials like bush poplin, waxed cotton, leather, and hemp canvas that will be used to make the garments in the product line.
Factors that will help Willis and Geiger stand out. This slide contains brand strengths such as heritage, quality, and attention to detail with images of classic tags and jackets.
Competitive Landscape. This slide contains a competitive landscape chart comparing Willis & Geiger to other outdoor brands by price and quality.
Market segment. This slide contains a market segment overview of U.S. outdoor apparel industry with demographic and sustainability trends.
Customer profile. This slide contains a customer profile slide describing dominant and periphery consumer types with lifestyle insights.
SWOT Analysis. This slide contains a SWOT analysis showing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the brand.
Pricing and distribution. This slide contains a pricing and distribution strategy slide outlining gross margin goals and launch channels.
Marketing content. This slide contains a marketing strategy highlighting now, soon, and later strategic goals.
Collaborations. This slide contains press and collaboration strategy featuring media outlets, events, artists, and influencers.
Conclusion. This slide summarizes the pitch to revive Willis & Geiger’s legacy through the Trailblazer Collection.

Consumer Insights in Action

Working with an established company like Lands’ End brought many learning opportunities. For one, Shenoi partnered with Circana, the leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior, to conduct specified market research and target customer identification. This partnership was made possible through the Kohl’s Center for Retailing.

Consumer value earth-friendly retail. This slide contains market data from Circana on consumer behavior, sustainability preferences, and purchase trends.

In the News:

One-of-a-kind experience: Students revitalize iconic heritage brand through consulting project

Picture of student participants, School of Human Ecology Dean, Soyeon Shim, and Chief Executive Officer Andrew McLean.
Picture of student group at Lands' End headquarters.
Picture of two students presenting their project.

"To provide students with an opportunity to complete a brand pitch and create a museum-quality window exhibition — that is something only the School of Human Ecology can do.”

Laura Hensen, Kohl's Center for Retailing Executive Director