Bean Makes Its Own News: What Retail Industry Crisis?
L.L. Bean Makes Its Own News: What Retail Industry Crisis? Sunday November 23, 2008 Somebody forgot to tell L.L. Bean about the retail industry crisis. With a new store opening, impressive e-retailing results, television advertising, and the launch of their annual Northern Lights celebration, L.L. Bean is employing a business-as-usual strategy that is as oblivious as it is surprisingly successful. While November, 2008 has been a challenge for most U.S. retailers, its been a good month for L.L. Bean. It had to be encouraging to L.L. Bean management to see hundreds of customers standing in line waiting for its newest store to open. Of course, the free gift card bribe offered to the first 500 customers who walked through the doors of the new L.L. Bean store in Pittsburgh was probably the major motivation behind the crowd. But any strategy that successfully gets customers through the
