Ben Ball

L.L.Bean Tries to Go Younger

March 16, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
When Julia Winder, a 20-year-old college sophomore from Princeton, N.J., spoke with The Boston Globe, she said exactly what L.L.Bean wanted to hear. "This is more of a preppy East Coast style rather than just an outdoorsy Maine look." The "this" Ms. Winder was referring to was L.L.Bean's new Signature line of clothing aimed at young adults. Is L.L.Bean on the right track trying to expand its consumer base with the Signature line?      [more...]

L.L.Bean may be viewing this as "something completely new" and that is probably a good thing. But in another perspective, this is just L.L.Bean adapting L.L.Bean to a new generation. They enter the space with tremendous authenticity. And there is an obvious void created by Lands' End when they went to Sears. L.L.Bean will do very well here I predict. Very well indeed.