L.L.Bean is an American private retailer founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company is based in Freeport, Maine, United States. It specializes in outdoor leisure wear and equipment.
Video L.L.Bean
Company history
L.L.Bean was founded in 1912 by the namesake, hunter and fisherman Leon Leonwood Bean in Freeport, Maine. The company started as a one-room operation selling one product, Maine Hunting Shoe (also known as duck shoes). Bean has developed a waterproof boot, which is a combination of lightweight leather tops and rubber pads, which he sells to hunters. He obtained a list of non-resident Maine hunting permit holders, prepared a circular descriptive warrant, set up shop in his brother's basement in Freeport and started a national mail-order business. In 1912, he sold Bean Boot, or Maine Hunting Shoe, through a four-page catalog of orders, and boot remained a staple of corporate image. Defects in the initial design caused 90 percent of the original production goes back: Bean made good on the money-back guarantee, improved the design, and continued to sell it.
220,000 sq ft (20,000 m 2 ) LLBean retail store campus in Freeport, Maine is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with over three million visitors per year, by 2015.
Leon L. Bean died on February 5, 1967, in Pompano Beach, Florida. She is buried at Webster's Freeport Cemetery. The company became the director of Bean's grandson Leon Gorman from that time until 2001, when Gorman decided to take the position of Chairman, leaving the CEO position for Christopher McCormick, the first non-family member to take over the post. On May 19, 2013, Shawn Gorman, 47, the great-grandson of the company founder, was elected chairman of L.L.Bean. The company announced a US $ 125,000 donation for a new scholarship fund for the death of Leon Gorman in 2015, representing about 2.5 years of tuition at his alma mater, Bowdoin College.
Stephen Smith was appointed CEO in November 2015, the first time in the company's 103-year history that the CEO has been hired from outside the company.
Maps L.L.Bean
Product line
From the beginning, the company has branched out not only for variations on boots but for other outdoor equipment such as firearms, backpacks, tents, and producing a full line of clothing, which is now its flagship.
L.L.Bean is a global company that takes its products from the US and around the world. in 2016 the Brunswick, Maine plant employs over 450 people making handicraft products such as Maine Hunting Shoe, L.L.Bean Boot, Boats and Totes, dog beds, leather goods and backpacks.
In 2000, L.L.Bean formed a contract with Japanese car manufacturer Subaru, making L.L.Bean the official Subaru clothing retailer, spawning the L.L.Bean Subaru Outback and Subaru Forester editions for the US market. The L.L.Bean trim level is a top-spec version, with all available options included as standard equipment. This relationship with Subaru ended June 28, 2008.
In 2010, L.L.Bean established a contemporary sub-brand known as L.L.Bean Signature. The Signature Line is a modern interpretation of a previous L.L.Bean product with modern matches.
Retail Store
Together with a number of retail stores and outlets ("factories"), the company maintains its flagship store on Main Street in Freeport, Maine. This branch, originally opened in 1917, has been open 24 hours a day since 1951, with the exception of two Sundays in 1962 when Maine changed his blue law; city ​​voting then restores the store's open door policy. The ship was also closed to honor the death of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963, as well as the death of founder Leon Bean in 1967 and his grandson Leon Gorman in 2015.
LLBean, for its part, has invested heavily in activities for visitors and residents of Freeport, including the Outdoor Discovery School, Christmas lights, and the Summer Concert Series, which has attracted artists such as Grace Potter, Lake Street Dive, Edwin McCain, Great Big Sea, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Rockapella.
L.L.Bean opened its first outlet outlet in North Conway, New Hampshire in 1988. The company operates 30 retail stores and 10 factory outlets in the US, and 25 retail stores in Japan, in addition to catalogs and online sales operations.
The L.L.Bean Bootmobile, which travels throughout the country throughout the year, also serves as a mobile shop during its college tour, selling Bean Boots, special straps, and more.
In March 2018, L.L. Bean opened their first urban location in the Boston Harbor District. The 8,600-square-foot store will be a model for further expansion in urban areas and offers a selection of selected items to suit the needs of the surrounding community.
Return Policy
Since its establishment, L.L.Bean has an unlimited return policy, which allows customers to return items they are not satisfied at any time, even without a purchase receipt. On February 9, 2018, the company announced that it would restrict its return within one year of purchase, and only by receipt or other proof of purchase. L.L.Bean says that some customers have abused the policy by returning items that have been purchased from sales of pages and third parties or using the policy as a lifetime replacement program item with normal wear. L.L.Bean also stated that they have the right to refuse to return to those who return the goods systematically.
Political activity
In January 2017, there was a call from a group of political activists to boycott LLBean after it was revealed that Linda Bean, one of the founding fathers of Leon Leonwood Bean who sat on the board of directors, has donated US $ 60,000 to a political action committee that supports Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. a statement that his contribution may be illegal. Trump posted on Twitter, supporting Linda Bean after calling for a boycott, "Thanks to Linda Bean from L.L.Bean for your great support and courage.People will support you even more now.Buy L.L.Bean." The company says it does not contribute to Trump, nor does it have another director or one of 50 other Bean heirs. The company has refused to say if publicity hurt sales, but its sales are flat for the second year in a row in 2016 after a relatively political contribution supporting US President Donald Trump.
Outdoor Discovery School
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments