L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon

by Leon Gorman

Book Overview

L. L. Bean is one of only a handful of American companies to have attained almost legendary status in the minds of its consumers. Thanks to the integrity of its product line, consistently strong brand... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578511836
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Honest and readable

Although the narrative sometimes gets a little disjointed, overall this is a readable and interesting account of the making of a great American outfitter and brand name. Gorman is quite frank in presenting the difficulties, conflicts, and internal growing pains that led to the company's strong market presence in the fickle retail world of the new millenium. He is honest about his own limitations and contributions, and how much he had to learn in order to grow into the job. For example, he discusses in detail how difficult it was for the company to change from being exclusively mail order to the retail store business, which just hadn't been their thing up till then, and many people were opposed to the idea. Many departments of the company, from marketing, warehousing, inventory control, product design, and management, were required to "raise the bar" and become far more systematic and professional in their approach, rather than operating like a small-town, family-owned business as it had up till then. But one of the great strengths of the company is that they managed to do this without sacrificing many of those values. Overall, a fine acount of how a great little company survived their growing pains into a much bigger enterprise without sacrificing body and soul to do it.

Not to be passed by....

My Grandfather was an Adirondack Hunting/Fishing guide during the 1930s and 1940s. He had many items in his inventory that came from L.L. Bean. Being curious, I went to Freeport, Maine to visit the store. I was surprised to be there at a book signing. The signing was for "The Making of and American Icon" written by Leon Gorman. I was honored to meet this unbelievable person as well as his wife. Mr. Gorman signed my copy, listened to my short story and off I went. It was a great experience! This book is written very well with a great story to tell. If you're at all interested in L.L. Bean and the business' evolution, this is a book for you. Loads of great history and personal accounts from the people who actually worked and lived the history. Very well written. I'm keeping this one as an heirloom.

Business primer

Following military service, the author, grandson of L.L. Bean, (the company's founder), was advised by the placement office at his alma mater, Bowdoin College, to seek employment at L.L. Bean in Freeport. Leon Gorman noticed that in comparison to the catalogs of the thirties, where copy was written by L.L., the catalog in 1959 was a hodgepodge. In 1960 L.L. Bean was about ninety and responsible for decisionmaking, but not capable of conducting the business. There were no systems of manufacture or sales. Work in the core business had virtually stopped in wartime when manufacturing was devoted to turning out goods for the government. Resumption of the core business had been feeble in execution. Response to customer orders was slow. There were arguments with customers. Employees were ill-paid, but the establishment was known as a good place to work. (There was a bonus plan.) There was no pension plan. Many people filling critical positions were elderly. The author's father had worked for the company. Interestingly, during an era of vigorous leadership by the founder, the thirties, the company did well. By the 1960's his vision of the company was failing and there was no succession planning. Two secretaries oversaw order entry and mailing list tasks, in one instance, and advertising and catalog preparation, in the other instance. They consulted the founder and his demoralized son Carl only when necessary and then pushed and cajoled the men into making decisions in order to have things run smoothly. Wid Griffin, a third key employee, was particularly useful when sales increased during the Christmas season, (twenty-five percent of the annual business was done then in one month). Leon Gorman, the author, had a favorite competing company, Abercrombie and Fitch. It had high-quality credentials. A less desirable aspect was its elitism. Leon added items to the catalog by subterfuge, using the new items first in circulars. Following the deaths of his grandfather and uncle, Leon was named President of the company in 1967. In the 1970's L.L. Bean mailed more catalogs than its competitors. Heavy inventories were maintained to support service levels. It was becoming a clothing-driven company. Leon's leadership training had been acquired from the Boy Scouts and the Navy. The challenge was to maintain old-fashioned values in a rapid growth environment. Leon Gorman's professional managers at Bean included John Findlay, Bill End, Norm Poole. L.L. Bean became fashionable for a time. The fashion wave crested in 1983. Growth stalled. Then the company grew by twenty percent in 1985! Specialty catalogs were added. In 1989 there was a fall-off in sales. The company was following a 'best' strategy which was costly in terms of return on investment. It was ringed by competitors copying its successes. There was a dichotomy between the active outdoor sphere, the area of the brand, and casual apparel, place of the greater number of sales.

Inspirational

I learned much about Leon Gorman, L.L. Bean and running a business. What truly held me captive was the underlying message: "Stay true to yourself and your core beliefs." No matter the changing of the guard at or the changing environment surrounding L.L. Bean, it always stood for (and still does today) loyalty (to the core business, employees and customers alike), quality and customer service. Sure, adaptations were made, but the core remained the same. I always looked at L.L. Bean as an unbelievably successful company, but did not know until reading the book the amazing sense of pride and loyalty that has been imbedded in the hearts and minds of the employees and customers. Such can only be the result of Leon Gorman's leadership and tireless work ethic in maintaining L.L. Bean's as it was and as it no doubt will be in the future. Many executives can learn a lot from reading this book and understanding the message.

Balancing tradition against growth...

L. L. Bean is the classic example of the cultural icon company... One that has been around forever, runs by a different set of rules, and has a fanatically loyal customer base. Leon Gorman, the last family member to serve as President of the company, recounts the history and struggles in his book L. L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon. It's an interesting look at how doing a few things correctly can overcome a number of other things done really badly. Contents: Part 1 - 1960 - 1967: L. L. Gives Me a Job; Learning the Business; Who Will Succeed L. L.? Part 2 - 1968 - 1975: A Committee of One; Living the L. L. Story; "To Run A Perfect Company" Part 3 - 1976 - 1990: Taking L. L. Bean Professional; Fashion Boom and Bust; Back on Track; End of an Era Part 4 - 1991 - 2000: TQ and Other Ventures; A Loss of Relevance; Time for Transformations; Platform for Growth Epilogue; Voices; Notes; Bibliography; Index Leon Gorman was hired by his grandfather, L. L. Bean, back in 1960 right out of the Navy. Gorman really didn't have specific responsibilities, but Bean wouldn't turn down a family member. Gorman spent most of his time learning about the company, how it operated, and how business flowed from one end to the other. At this point in time, L. L. Bean was a small catalog operation with one quirky retail store in Maine. The target audience was outdoorsmen, and all the apparel and merchandise sold reflected the feelings and opinions of what Bean thought was the best buy in any given category. This approach started back in 1912 and continued to carry forth at the time Gorman was hired. But Bean was getting old, had no real plan for succession of the company, nor did he really want to grow it any larger. But in late 1967, Gorman took over after the deaths of both L. L. and Carl, his son. The challenge then became one of retaining the L. L. Bean image while growing the company to one that would be known worldwide for quality apparel and active gear. Bean's no-nonsense, fair value approach to business worked well at a certain size, but there were no processes in place to support growth. The types of things we all take for granted now (inventory control, accounting packages, etc.) were nonexistent. There were also a number of wars going on internally over whether the focus of outdoor activities should be scrapped for a wider appeal (think Abercrombie and Fitch or Norm Thompson). Since this is told in first person story fashion, Gorman takes the reader through his view of what he was trying to accomplish, and how he had to navigate some pretty tricky waters, such as running a family-owned business whose principals didn't all have the same goals and objectives... The thing I liked most about this book is that it doesn't attempt to paint Gorman as an all-knowing leader who could do no wrong. Plenty of mistakes were made, and any one of them could have permanently damaged the company. But everyone learned the lessons they paid for, and the c