# Some Interesting LL Bean Facts



## thetrailboss (Dec 15, 2011)

So I was up last night with my six week old, and trying to stay awake, I did a little research on LL Bean (using Wikipedia) and some internal documents. Here are some interesting facts for their 100th Anniversary:


Leon Leonwood Bean started the company in Greenwood, Maine. He then moved to Freeport and began selling his boots via a mailing he sent to non-resident hunting license holders;
90% of his first run of boots were defective, so to make good on his promise, he repaired and replaced them free of charge, starting the "legendary guarantee;"
His grandson is the Chairman of the Board of the company;
The whole 24-hours a day, seven days a week, open store policy in Freeport began in 1951 and since then the store has only been closed twice (JFK's Assassination, LL Bean's death), and on two Sundays after Maine renewed its blue laws;
The first outlet store opened in North Conway in 1988; they now have 14 retail stores outside of Maine in the United States, *and 62 retail stores in China alone* :blink: as well as *20 retail stores in Japan*. Don't believe me? Read *here* at Page 11;
The company took on its first non-family CEO in 2001 (Christopher McCormick);
Year-round US employees total 4,600 people; 9,000 people in holiday shopping;
In 2010, they had *11 million customer contacts*; on a *single day in December 2010 they had 127,000 orders*  ;
In 2010 they had 2,500 customer service reps in Maine, and on a *single day in December 2010 they handled 100,000 calls* (that's 40 calls per rep!);
Their warehouse in Maine can hold "10 million units," and has the average capacity to process 50,000 orders a day; in 2010 they shipped 13 million packages (hence why UPS is in business :lol: ) with the busiest day in (you guessed it) December 2010 on which they sent *180,000 orders*;
Manufacturing still takes place in Maine, with 250 employees in Lewiston and Brunswick who manufacture their Bean Boots and totes.
http://www.llbean.com/customerService/aboutLLBean/images/110408_About-LLB.pdf

Unreal.


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## kickstand (Dec 15, 2011)

I read the book Leon Gorman (the grandson) wrote for/with the Harvard Business Review.  Pretty interesting stuff, if you're a fan of the store.  It's not terribly current (I think it ends around the time McCormick took over), but there are some good stories about how they grew the business to what it is today.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ll-bean-leon-gorman/1102504462?ean=9781578511839&itm=7&usri=ll+bean


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## thetrailboss (Dec 15, 2011)

I think a newer version of that book is coming out soon....


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