Lands' End reported this week that net sales for its first quarter ended April 30, totaled $290 million, up 7.8 percent from sales of $269 million in the same quarter last year. The company's net income for the quarter was $6.5 million, and diluted earnings per share were 21 cents, compared with $5.2 million, or 17 cents a share, in the prior year. Lands' End said sales from its core business was up slightly as a result of increased activity from the Internet. Overall sales growth primarily came from increased liquidations, about half of which was from the liquidation of its Willis & Gieger business. Gross profit in the quarter was $125.4 million, or 43.3 percent of net sales in the first quarter of the prior year.
