But this latest episode, a mere year into Smith’s tenure, was particularly difficult to swallow. The company, after all, is a century-old family-owned business-more than 50 Bean family members remain associated with it, including six on the board of directors-with annual net sales of $1.6 billion. “I never would have imagined that we would be where we are.” “This is extraordinary,” Smith told me in the midst of the crisis, painfully aware that the brand’s reputation and thousands of jobs in Maine, including his own, were potentially at stake. The Trump effect was tearing apart Bean’s carefully cultivated image, and there was no playbook the new CEO could turn to for help. At the same time, Trump fans proudly said they’d follow their leader’s marching orders and buy Bean products in bulk as a show of solidarity. Bean credit cards, returned orders, and pledged allegiance on Facebook to competitors Patagonia and REI. In an anti-Trump frenzy, longtime customers cut up their L.L. Bean was snarled in one of the largest crises the 105-year-old company had ever faced. By the time Smith returned to Maine later that day, L.L. Suddenly, the brand had been hijacked, those tote bags now symbols of political partisanship.
Trump’s message landed with the subtlety of a hand grenade. “Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage,” he proclaimed. Not long after Linda Bean’s comments aired, Trump blasted an impromptu tweet to his roughly 20 million followers. Bean’s headquarters in Freeport, Maine not to mention persistent operational problems, including a steady onslaught of Bean Boot look-alikes flooding the market.ĭuring that trip to Salt Lake City, after a busy few days scoping out new gear for Bean’s sprawling product line and listening to manufacturers pitch the latest in high-performance microfiber technology, Smith’s mind raced with ideas that he could bring back east to help get New England’s most iconic brand back on track.ĭonald Trump’s tweet praising board member Linda Bean brought national attention to a boycott of the brand. There was the unsettling financial report in March 2016 that sales were flat the company’s recall of 6,700 children’s water bottles due to lead contamination the strange land feud with a cemetery association, over access to an ancient graveyard near L.L. There certainly was plenty of work to be done.īy all measures, it had been a turbulent 12 months as president and CEO for Smith, a marketing whiz who cut his teeth at Hannaford Supermarkets before a stint with Walmart International in China. An avid telemark skier, he was tempted to blow off meetings and head to the nearby slopes of Park City, which were buried under 2 feet of fresh powder, but the 6-foot-6 executive was still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and chose to hunker down at his hotel. Bean, arrived in Salt Lake City for a retail trade show. On the second Monday of January, Stephen Smith, the 46-year-old head of L.L. Despite flat sales and unwanted attention on social media, president and CEO Stephen Smith is convinced that there is room for the L.L.
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