L.L. Bean was founded in 1912 and specializes in outdoor apparel and equipment. It launched an initial website in 1995 that received criticism for lacking features. In response, L.L. Bean revamped their website the following year with more content and online shopping capabilities. They also remodeled stores and opened new retail locations. Today, L.L. Bean has a full-featured website and 36 stores worldwide, with online sales surpassing catalog sales in 2006. The company remains committed to high quality products and exceptional customer service.

1. Submitted By: Sumit kr. Sharma Swayamnanda Tanhishaaggarwal Vibhutisrivastav Utkarshchauhan Viduaggarwal VimalPandey Submitted To: Prof.AbhishekSrivastava

3. Company Overview - Major Competitors include: - Land's End - Eddie Bauer - Cabela's - Bass Pro Shops - Primary Target Customers include: - Avid Outdoorsmen / Outdoorswomen. - Typically between the ages of 35 and 54. - No plans to target the younger “urban” segment. - Sales Channels: - Online - Retail Stores (36 worldwide)‏ - Catalog Sales

5. Company Overview

6. L.L.Bean products L.L.Bean products are recognized around the world for their practical design and high quality. Field Coat, introduced in 1924 and the Chamois Shirt in 1928. The widely recognized Boat and Tote® Bag was introduced in 1944 as Bean's Ice Carrier. The company devotes significant time and energy to product research,testing and development. This process includes lab tests, field testers and employee and customer feedback. L.L.Bean’s popular Home products, which include bedding, rugs,furniture, towels, cookware, food and decorating accessories. The store also offers handcrafted, vintage, one-of-a-kind items.

7. Challenges - Competitive environment becoming much more complicated. - Consumer tastes are beginning to change. - Evolution of the Internet, e-marketing, and e-commerce. - Growing popularity of retail stores and retail shopping. - L.L. Bean, in the 1980s and 1990s, had become very popular in Japan. Japan was doing well at the time and it's people were buying from Bean's left and right, that is, until their economy started to shift.

8. Initial Response - L.L.Beanquickly jumped on the web bandwagon and created a website. - The site was created and launched in late 1995. - It featured little more than product descriptions and pictures. - Gained criticism from critics and competitors, who had also launched websites and offered e-commerce to their customers, as well as other features like clothing size comparison, etc. - Bean's knew something had to give. They had gotten in too soon, and their methods quickly became obsolete.

10. Fixin' Up "L.L. Bean's commitment to customers is the cornerstone of our heritage. In presenting secure on-line ordering, we seek to offer customers a convenient way to shop, and to assure them they will receive the same friendly and knowledgeable service they have come to expect from our catalog customer service representatives and the sales staff at our retail store." - Chris McCormick

11. Fixin' Up - Other improvements that Bean's decided to implement: - Designing of new product lines such as Freeport Studio. - Store remodeling (Freeport). - New manufacturing equipment. - New specialty catalogs. - Opening more retail stores (across the U.S. And eventually Japan). - Partnering with Unica(the company that acquired MarketSoft Corp)‏ and implementing their Affinium software suite.

12. Nowadays - Now, one can do just about anything on the L.L. Bean website as it pertains to their products: - Monogramming - Embroidered Logos - Special Gift Wrapping and Boxing - Special Gift Ideas for the Holidays - Etc. - Bean's now has a Japanese-language website! - http://www.llbean.co.jp

14. Customer Service The philosophy of the company has not changed. business today might differ from doing business in 1912. Chris McCormick remains firm in his commitment to providing superior service and excellent products. Each product is still guaranteed to provide 100% satisfaction. They serve customers with knowledgeable employees who are highly customer focused. Employees are trained to take the time each individual customer requires to feel valued whether through the mail, on the phone, by fax, over the Internet or in the stores.

15. Initial launch,including interactive shopping guides, 24-hour live customer service and features such as order tracking, up-to-date product availability, customer order history and ratings and reviews. The company is a well-recognized world leader in the mail order and retail industries and has developed a multichannel approach to maintaining the same high level of service for customers in the US and abroad. Customer Service

16. Evaluating Response - Understanding customer needs and behaviors: Bean was beginning to understand the trend – people's tastes were just changing. Trends come and go, as always. Also, e-commerce was making it's move around the time in question, and the popularity of retail was beginning to rise. They began contemplating a website and the opening of more retail stores, as well as strengthening their relationship with their customers, a big source of sales. They wanted to find other a venues of marketing, as well, and started to watch what their other competitors were doing.

17. Evaluating Response - Formulating a Strategy to Fulfill Needs: Bean figured they would start off slow. They didn't want to just “jump in” to the web and invest a whole lot of money into something that might not come back profitable. They figured they'd start off with just a small description site and see how that worked out first. They were also thinking about other e-marketing methods like e-mail marketing. However, when they began thinking of going retail, their thought process was different. They decided to try and aggressively open up new stores.

18. Evaluating Response - Implement Effectively and Efficiently: They first got the site up and running towards the end of 1995, with not many bells and whistles. They also started doing e-mail marketing, again, being slow and basic. After obtaining profits from their website and email marketing, they invested this money into the growth of these departments. Now they have a full-featured website and one of the best email marketing programs available. They did effectively manage their risk and probably saved money by taking it slow Then, they beefed up the site and introduced e-commerce using IBM's Net. Commerce platform. However, coming to their retail store end, Bean's attempted to open three large stores in two years, which did not prove to be successful. After a while, however, they got the hang of it and now have a total of 36 stores.

19. Evaluating Response - Formulating a Strategy to Fulfill Needs: At this point in time, Bean didn't have to try and build a trusting relationship with their existing customers – they've had one in place since 1912! Even if somebody has never done business with L. L. Bean, as long as they know who they are, they know what type of reputation Bean has. For the people that didn't know, all it takes is one visit to the website or one browse in the catalog to see that Bean's just isn't your average company. One order from them and you'll have a customer hooked.

20. L.L.’s Golden Rule “Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat yourcustomers like human beings, and they will always comeback for more.” — Leon Leonwood Bean

21. GUARANTEED.You Have Our Word. Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction inevery way. Return anything purchased from us at any timeif it proves otherwise. We do not want you to haveanything from L.L.Bean that is not completely satisfactory.

22. What Is aCustomer? A customer is the most important person ever in this company—in person or by mail. A customer is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him. A customer is not an interruption of our work, he is thepurpose of it. We are not doing a favor by serving him, he is doing us afavor by giving us the opportunity to do so. A customer is not someone to argue or match wits with. Nobody ever won an argument with a customer. A customer is a person who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle them profitably to him, and to ourselves.

23. CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP • All new L.L.Bean buildings are constructed in accordance with the US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy &Environmental Design) program • L.L.Bean encourages its employees to adopt environmentally friendly commuting options, such as carpooling, biking and walking and provides access to resources and incentives • The company’s fleet contains biodiesel trucks, buses and hybrid vehicles, and L.L.Bean supports a fleet of propane buses at Acadia National Park • L.L.Bean recycles more than 82% of its waste, including 5,000 tons of cardboard, and donates unused office supplies andequipment to local schools

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