Ll Bean Case Study
L.L Bean Incorporation has been a successful company that has been around since 1912. The company achieved the status of a multimillion dollar company through strong, dedicated customer service and relationship with customers. The companys goal of doubling their numbers has always been successful and achieved for it shows in their financial numbers and sales revenue. But they have never been a company for risk taking, always sticking to what they know (mail orders) rather then moving into new territory. How do they maintain successful is by bettering the services and things they are good in. But the issue is now, with heavy competition from the competitors moving into different ways of distribution and expansion, what are the opportunities L.L Bean have and what should their next steps be. L.L Bean does not have many retailer stores or department stores that have their brand in a section and many of their competitors are targeting new and younger generations with more a fashion forward style to their outdoor clothing line. Another potential threat is that the current management wants to keep the authenticity of the brand from when it was started through extreme customer service and intense examination of products that do not fit to standard and a very easy return policy causing them to lose out on 2 million dollars of products at a certain point.
Some of the alternatives L.L Bean has for expansion is they can expand into department stores or malls through retail stores and possibly internationally as well. Many for their competitors have already done so like Eddie Bauer, Talbots and Lands End moving into retailer industry and making the store more commercial rather than keeping it mainly for those who are outdoor enthusiast privately through mail orders. By doing so they have the opportunity to reach out to more consumers that they havent been able especially if they expand to retail store or department stores because consumers that do not have any knowledge of outdoor gears they can simple browse and see what the brand is all about. This can help advertise to more potential consumers for they will know what the brand stands for and keep it in the back of their mind or be intrigue in the brand and sign up for catalogs especially those in international countries for they may have never heard of the brand at all. Another potential way is focusing on manufacturing expansion. By doing focusing on this area they can save a lot of money as a company, because they would not have to buy from private vendors and can produce products under the watch of the company and ensure they are producing the products up to par with the company standard so when they test the products they do not have to damage out as much products saving them millions of dollars of products that go to waste. Another alternative is branching into different product lines or different markets. Competitors are now moving into different markets like providing