LL Bean steps out

I've been an L.L. Bean fan for a good many years now. 

In 1972, before my friend Joyce and I embarked on our cross-country camping trip, we made a pilgrimage to their store in Freeport, Maine, and bought a tent and some other camping gear. I also brought a hunter-green rain jacket, which saw me through the cross-country trek (2 months) and the longer Euro trip (5 months) the following year.

I don't remember L.L. Bean being that big a deal back in the day. I think it was mostly a New England thing, and it was mainly camping gear, hunting/fishing stuff, birdseye sweaters, tote bags, and duck boots.

I did have a birdseye sweater at one point, but I was never one for the duck boots. I did try the low cut version once, to wear in the rain, but they were pretty much the most uncomfortable shoe I'd ever owned. I think I wore them once.

But I have plenty of L.L. Bean clothing: jeans, tees, turtle necks, cords, sweaters, shirts, khakis, fleeces, parkas, hoodies, PJs, slippers. And tote bags. In multiple sizes. 

I've been to that flagship store in Freeport a few times, and to their local stores (Boston, Burlington) a few times as well. But I'm mostly a catalog shopper. 

Although I haven't been up there in years, and have no plans to get to L.L. Bean's mothership any time soon, I was still interested to read that the store has been undergoing a total do-over, and was recently re-opened. I was unaware that it had been closed for two years. (The reno had cost $50M. That's a lot of duck boots - high or low cut.)

The makeover isn't just for the flagship store:

The bet goes well beyond Freeport. L.L. Bean is opening stores in new markets, refreshing its classic products, courting younger shoppers, and looking for new ways to connect with customers — all as it tries to break out of a decade of sluggish growth without losing what made it beloved in the first place. (Source: Boston Globe)

Because L.L. Bean is a local company, and because it's a privately (family) held company that hasn't been scarfed up by some ravenous PE crew hell bent on wringing out any profits while firing as many employees as they can and wrecking the brand, I'm rooting for L.L. Bean.

I'm all in favor of refreshing classic products and appealing to the youngs, but I hope they don't do too much refreshing. I hope they remember us loyal olds, even though we're dying out and even though we maybe don't order all that much anymore, mostly because we're still wearing clothing we bought decades ago. 

I just got rid of a pair of khaki capri pants that I've had for at least 25 years. I know they're that old because I have a picture of me and my sisters, taken shortly after my mother's death in 2001, when we gathered at Kath's house for a couple of days R&R. In the picture we're all wearing the same L.L. Bean capris and different color versions of the same L.L. Bean checked shirt. My capris were still in pretty good shape. I was just sick of them and haven't worn them in a couple of years. 

Among the innovations L.L. Bean has introduced is letting folks add phrases to their tote bags, and not just stick to initials and names. 

Now younger consumers are opting for phrases such as “cool mom” or “hot mess.” (Others are too provocative to print in a family-owned newspaper.)

Oh, you kids!

But I can get behind this, as long as - in memory of my husband - they still sell plaid flannel shirts. 

The company is also emphasizing that some of their products - most notably those iconic duck boots and tote bags - are home grown: made in Maine. 

As for the newly tricked out Freeport store, they're fulling getting behind personalization:

An entire floor is devoted to customization, where shoppers can embellish totes, coats, denim, and other items with embroidery, keychains, bandanas, and patches that lean into New England identity.

Which should definitely appeal to the Instagram all-about-me generation. Not that I didn't love personalization when I was a kid. Not much was personalized back then, as we all wore hand me downs, and it was hard to hand them down something with someone else's name on it. But two of my most memorable childhood possessions were a little red umbrella with Maureen written on it, and a very cute tee-shirt that featured little bears and Maureen spelled out in peppermint striped letters. (My mother must have used it for dust rags once I outgrew it. She was hardly going to have my brother Tom, who was next in line, wear it. And I know I never had to wear my sister's peppermint lettering Kathleen tee.)

With the newly jazzed up store, it looks like the company is trying to make the store a destination. (As if it's very L.L. Bean-ness isn't destination-y enough!)

There’s a trout pond, a tank of fish kids can view through a crawl space, an expanded café, and a children’s area modeled after Maine summer camps. They expanded their green space in front of the store for community events and outdoor programs. There will even be a beer garden with local brews.

L.L. Bean is also expanding its retail footprint, focusing on opening new stores in the Midwest and Southeast.

I wish them luck, but hope they never lose their New England charm. 

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Image Source: LL Bean