W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z
Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine
200 200
IDEAS
FOR
MAINE'S
BICENTENNIAL
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Leon Leonwood Bean had a vision for retail
B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N
eon Leonwood Bean, who founded L.L. Bean in 1912, was an accomplished
fisherman, avid hunter and seasoned outdoorsman. But what's sometimes
overlooked was his savvy as a businessman and innovations as a retailer. He pro-
moted the money-back guarantee, nearly losing his shirt early on when most of
the early hunting shoes were returned when the stitching failed. Before blogs or
the term "influencer" were invented, his catalog featured first-person descriptions
of products like the chamois-cloth shirts — "the shirt I personally use on all my
hunting and fishing trips." In the company's mail-order catalog, Bean sold more
than products. He sold a Maine way of life, not just with the folksy catalog copy
but with the covers, an idealized portrait of fishing, camping and "camp" life as
influential as Currier & Ives prints in their day. He also knew the value of bring-
ing people into Freeport. When a bypass was built around Freeport in the 1950s
(despite Bean's protests), the company touted U.S. Route 1, which went directly
through downtown, as faster and safer, while allowing "you five minutes relaxation
from heavy traffic strain." He also knew the value of a dollar, according to biog-
rapher M.R. Montgomery. When Life magazine ran a four-page feature in 1941,
Bean wrote that it was "a big help" to the mail order business. "To have bought
this space would have cost us $48,000," he calculated.
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Leon Leonwood Bean
P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y L . L . B E A N
