The outdoor clothing market is currently experiencing a boom, driven by the casualization trend: consumers are opting for practical, durable outdoor styles for everyday wear.

Compared to the overall fashion market, which McKinsey expects to grow by around 2 percent in the US this year, outdoor clothing is expected to grow by 6.6 percent to $11.2 billion (up from $10.5 billion in 2023), according to Global Market Insights.

The 112-year-old LL Bean Company was a pioneer in this field, but over the years younger, flashier brands have entered the market, most notably The North Face and Patagonia.

But instead of playing the competition’s game, LL Bean sticks to its activities and follows Jeff Bezos’ recipe of compulsively and obsessively focusing on customers instead of the competition.

Step by step forward

In its modest, Maine-inspired way, LLBean embarked on a conservative growth course over 30 years ago, testing the waters beyond its flagship store in Freeport, Maine, which is open 24 hours a day, year-round and is one of Maine’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting over three million visitors each year.

The first store outside of Maine opened in Japan in 1992, followed by the first in the United States in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in 2000. Since then, the company has followed a cautious course, opening two to three stores each year.

After opening four stores in the U.S. this year, the company will now have 60 locations in 19 states, including its first in Indiana, as well as 22 stores in Japan and 13 stores in Canada in partnership with Jaytex Group.

Additionally, the brand is sold in approximately 200 partner stores, including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, Moosejaw, Scheels, Academy Sports + Outdoors and affiliated independent specialty retailers.

The company’s goal is to “inspire people and give them the opportunity to experience the restorative power of being outdoors.” The company has a large country to cover and, according to CEO Stephen Smith, sees a path to opening between six and ten stores per year.

“Our roots are in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, but with our direct e-commerce business, we have customers in all 50 states, including huge customer bases in the Midwest and South,” Smith said.

“So we want to expand west and south. Our stores are all doing well, year-on-year comparables are positive and new stores are immediately sustainable,” he added.

Quality never goes out of style

LL Bean still has a long way to go to reach the market penetration of The North Face or Patagonia, both of which have over 3,000 stores worldwide. But the brand is in no way inferior to them in terms of quality and is often superior in price.

“Freeport, Maine-based LL Bean is probably our favorite outdoor casual wear brand,” wrote Kurt Spurlock in Men’s Health. But Anna Krizova, who writes on the blog Camino Adventures and compares the brand to Patagonia, noted, “LL Bean somehow always goes unnoticed.”

That’s something Smith wants to work on. “We have great brand recognition. It would be hard to find someone who doesn’t like us, but we need to get people to consider LL Bean as a destination.”

The local stores are designed to solve LL Bean’s “out of sight, out of mind” problem. After testing a number of different store models, the company found the optimal size of 1,300 to 1,600 square feet, just enough to showcase the most important products as well as seasonal new items that suit the location. Apparel, outerwear and footwear make up about 80 to 90 percent of the store’s offerings, with room left for select outdoor gear.

For example, the new store opening this fall in Mechanicsburg in southern Pennsylvania, near Maryland and West Virginia, will offer not only camping equipment but also fly fishing supplies. Other stores opening this year include Ulster, NY; Enfield, CT; and Indianapolis.

“It’s a challenge to optimally bring LL Bean to the local level from our catalog and our 20,000-square-foot flagship store, so we always use a geographic filter to properly assemble the assortment and our programs,” he said.

Of course, the company’s extensive customer database and purchase history help guide decisions about what will sell in certain locations, and they also provide guidance to the real estate team in finding the right locations for a new business.

Retail is a people business

Smith stresses the importance of presenting the right product in stores – “No matter how good your marketing is, the best representation of our brand is the product in our stores” – and he says the most important factor in the success of an LL Bean store is its employees.

“We are known nationally for our customer service, so hiring and training our sales staff is critical,” he explains. The hiring process begins about six months before the store opens to attract the best local talent. The store manager and assistant store manager go to Maine as part of the training program and then return to begin training their staff, who will also be deployed to other stores.

The sophisticated training strategy is working. “You could put any employee from any of our stores into our main store in Freeport, Maine, and you wouldn’t know the difference whether it’s a brand new employee from a regional store or someone who’s been with us for years,” Smith said.

This pays off with extremely low employee turnover, in the 11% range, while other retailers can see 100% turnover annually. The company also makes it a point to provide opportunities for advancement for its retail employees. Some follow a linear career from retail clerk to retail management, while others advance to corporate positions in Maine.

“Our people feel valued and challenged. They definitely feel valued because they see that we have upward development if they want it,” he continued.

Always take it easy

As a private company, LL Bean releases its revenue figures once a year in conjunction with its employee contribution memo. Revenue fell slightly from $1.8 billion last year to $1.7 billion in 2023. Still, the company paid its 5,600 employees a 9% bonus, including a 5% cash bonus and a 4% 401(k) contribution, and donated $5.7 million to various outdoor and community nonprofits.

Smith joked that “flat” is the new “up” in retail this year. He also noted that the company had a “really strong June,” followed by July, which started strong but ended weak. August, however, got off to a strong start.

“As a retailer, we’re very dependent on the weather, so we see more impulse purchases when it’s raining and you need a raincoat,” he said, adding that the back-to-school season is expected to be a big hit – backpacks are a perennial favorite. And once the weather turns in the fall and the holidays begin, more customers will head to LL Bean to buy seasonally appropriate clothing, outerwear, shoes and gifts.

Also expected to attract more customers in the fourth quarter are planned promotions around the 100th anniversary of the iconic, weatherproof, multi-pocket Field Coat and the 80th anniversary of the ever-popular Boat and Tote Bag, demand for which has increased 31% in the last year. He also said the classic Bean Boot is making a comeback.

“Our traditional styles are as relevant today as they ever were, so we’re always looking back at iconic products to spice them up and make them contemporary,” he said. “In customer surveys, our quality and durability rank first, closely followed by style. When the economy is tight, like right now, people are very careful about their quality in every purchase. Quality becomes key.”

Smith took over as CEO of LL Bean in 2016 after a varied career at Walmart in China and Delhaize, including Food Lion, Sweetbay Supermarket and Hannaford.

“People joke that you’re not a real Mainer unless your family goes back a few generations, but I feel right at home and live a typical Maine lifestyle,” he said. “An important part of that is being humble. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.”

“We really follow the math to have the right representation of the brand with the best product assortments and the best people in the right locations,” he concluded.

This is a formula for retail success that works all over the world, not just Maine.

See also:

ForbesLLBean grows with expanded omnichannel strategy, including wholesaleFrom Pamela N. Danziger