L.L. Bean: A Company that took Great Strides and Succeeded

Introduction: 

As promised in my first blog post I will be focusing on companies that have been formed in New England and have flourished over the years.  Today my focus will be on a company that is near and dear to most of our hearts, but really closer to our souls.  The soles of our shoes that is.  I am talking about L.L. Bean.  A New England company that seems to have taken the world by storm ever since they were created. 

A Brief History:

Leon Leonwood Bean

In 1911, and avid outdoors-man named Leon Leonwood Bean, from Freeport, Maine came home one night after a long day of hunting to find that his boots were soaking wet and his feet to be extremely cold.  At that moment he realized that something had to be done.  He could not go back out into the woods knowing that he did not have the proper attire.  The question was, how could he make his boots so they would not allow water, and snow to seep into them? With help from a local cobbler, Bean was able to stitch leather onto workmen's rubber boots, creating a boot that would get the job done.  Thus, L.L. Bean was formed.

In 1912, Bean began to produce these boots in his basement of his home.  To get the word out about his company, he obtained the addresses of avid outdoors-men, like himself, and sent them a three page catalog.  In other words, his target market was simply local men that were frustrated with not having the proper shoes for hunting.  From this catalog he received one hundred orders of boots.  Sadly, ninety of the boots failed.  This means ninety boots were returned for a full refund.  As awful as this sounds, Bean did not seem to upset about it.  Bean could have lost everything, but he knew that consumers/ customers would spread the word about his boots, so he knew that he had to stand behind his product.

After some tweaks to his original design, Bean began to have success.  Word began to spread about a product that was of high quality and was back by a one hundred percent back guarantee.  By 1934, Bean replaced the simple three page catalog with a 52 page catalog, which included anything from boots to fly fishing gear.  From here on L.L. Bean has seemed to keep on succeeding with whatever they do.

The Present:

One hundred years later, L.L. Bean still holds the same values as when they were first started.  They want to, "Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will always come back for more" Leon Leonwood Bean.  L.L. Bean still uses the word of mouth to get word out about their products.  For example, her is a link to there blog, where customers can write any questions comments or concerns that they have. L.L. Bean Blog  

Besides word of mouth L.L. Bean does have some other tricks up there sleeves.  For example, L.L. Bean is partnered with professional sports teams like the Boston Red Sox, and even the U.S. Olympic ski team.  These partnerships allow not only Red Sox Nation, but the world to know about L.L. Bean's quality products.  One could say that quality teams are supported by a quality product. 

Information Provided by the L.L. Bean Website.

Photo of Leon Leonwood Bean: https://www.llbean.com/customerService/aboutLLBean/company_values.html?nav=ln

Photo of the L.L. Bean Tarp: http://blog.aglamslam.com/2013/10/03/l-l-bean-designs-red-sox-boots-made-from-fenway-100th-anniversary-rain-tarp/

Photo of the L.L. Bean Logo:http://tanglewoodhall.com/activities