Ep. 76: L.L. Bean Conversation Revisited

[00:00:01] It's home to world-class shopping, great dining, and amazing attractions and events. And these are our stories, presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism.

[00:00:12] Merry Christmas everyone. As we soak in the joy of the season, spending time with loved ones, unwrapping gifts, and maybe indulging in some holiday treats, our So Much More crew is taking a well-deserved break.

[00:00:25] To keep the holiday spirit alive, we're bringing back a fan-favorite episode. That is episode 28, featuring an inspiring conversation with the president and CEO of L.L. Bean, Mr. Stephen Smith, and the Mall of America store manager, Guy Booth.

[00:00:41] Winter is just getting started, and let's face it, Minnesota cold is no joke. So who better to learn from than the experts at L.L. Bean?

[00:00:50] Enjoy this special episode. And from all of us here at So Much More, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a season filled with joy.

[00:00:58] Welcome to So Much More, our Mall of America Podcast. I am Jill Brunslow, the Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer at Mall of America, and my co-host Dan Jasper, the SVP of MOA Press.

[00:01:10] Hey, Jill. How are you?

[00:01:11] Good. How are you?

[00:01:12] You are decked out today. So this must have to go with the theme of our podcast.

[00:01:15] It goes with probably my favorite store at Mall of America, and I do not say that lightly.

[00:01:20] I love that. Well, welcome everybody, because today we're here to talk about one of our stores that is an outdoor icon.

[00:01:28] L.L. Bean will celebrate 10 years at Mall of America this year, and we love having this family-owned business right here in Minnesota.

[00:01:35] L.L. Bean has a rich history dating back to 1912 that started with one man and an idea for an outdoor boot.

[00:01:42] It's a company with over 100 years of history.

[00:01:46] So please welcome President and CEO Steve Smith and Mall of America store manager Guy Booth.

[00:01:52] Welcome, gentlemen.

[00:01:54] Thank you. Thank you for having us.

[00:01:55] Thanks for having us.

[00:01:55] And we have Steve all the way from the East Coast.

[00:01:58] So welcome.

[00:01:59] And we're so excited to talk with you today.

[00:02:02] So tell us the story about L.L. Bean.

[00:02:05] Yeah.

[00:02:06] Well, first, thanks a ton for inviting us on.

[00:02:09] And I was I visited with Guy over the holidays and we walked all of his store and then all of Mall of America.

[00:02:15] And Guy told me about your podcast and said, we've got to do it.

[00:02:18] So I'm really psyched that you invited us on.

[00:02:21] Super cool.

[00:02:22] And yeah, I'm here in Maine.

[00:02:23] So probably the same temperature.

[00:02:25] And I don't feel the same amount of snow on the ground, but same sort of rugged, rugged feel.

[00:02:30] Yeah.

[00:02:31] So the L.L. Bean story is pretty awesome.

[00:02:33] I mean, L.L. was a person, Leon Leon Wood Bean.

[00:02:36] And he started the company in 1912.

[00:02:39] He actually was 40 years old at the time.

[00:02:41] He's an entrepreneur and an apparel and clothing guy.

[00:02:44] And he also was a lifelong hunter and an angler in Maine and had the idea of, you know, he's in the woods all the time and his feet were cold and wet.

[00:02:56] And he was one of the first people to take the rubber bottom from a work boot and the leather top from a hiking boot and attach those two things to create, you know, a rugged outdoor boot that gave you the feel of the forest floor through and the traction through the rubber sole.

[00:03:14] But the comfort of a leather upper so that you could hike and trek through the woods and stay warm and dry.

[00:03:21] And the Bean boot, which is still made in Brunswick, Maine, still made in America.

[00:03:26] Every single component of the boot is made in America.

[00:03:30] And so it's still here right up the street from our corporate headquarters.

[00:03:35] There is lore attached to the boot, which is true, which is when he launched the boot, he got a list of hunters from but they were registered in the state of Maine and ended up sending 100 pairs of his boots.

[00:03:51] And he gave the boots out to those hunters to try.

[00:03:54] And 90 of them came back with unsatisfied with not working.

[00:03:59] And it was the very beginning of our, you know, our legendary return policy, which is still best in the industry, but 100% satisfaction guarantee.

[00:04:08] And he took 90 of those pairs back.

[00:04:10] He refabricated them.

[00:04:12] The upper and the lower were separating and, you know, worked it through and got them right and carried on the business.

[00:04:19] And that was the beginning.

[00:04:22] And L.L. ran L.L. Bean from 1912 to 1967.

[00:04:26] I mean, just that run is incredible.

[00:04:30] Handed the business over to his son, who sadly passed away within six months of running the business.

[00:04:35] And then Leon Gorman, his grandson, was a Bowdoin grad and a Navy officer and came out of the Navy to run L.L. Bean.

[00:04:43] And he became the second CEO and sort of second founder from 1967 to 2003.

[00:04:50] I can give you lots more, but we're totally family owned, family run, privately held.

[00:04:56] We still, my boss, our executive chair is L.L.'s great grandson, Sean Gorman.

[00:05:02] And so we still have the family attachment.

[00:05:05] And I can tell you a little more about the size of the business now, if you want.

[00:05:09] Yeah.

[00:05:09] I mean, it's just amazing.

[00:05:10] And to hear the history and it's such a fun story to share and especially the roots of the customer service.

[00:05:16] And that's what so many customers appreciate about the L.L.B. brand and the consistency and the reliability of the product.

[00:05:24] So, Guy, I would say, what would you, what would your perspective be of what resonates the most with L.L. Bean and the Minnesota customer, especially knowing that we also have a lot of tourists, obviously?

[00:05:34] I think it's a couple of things.

[00:05:35] Number one is its connection to the outdoors.

[00:05:38] So from the very beginning, as you heard with the story with L.L., it's been, we exist to help people get outdoors.

[00:05:43] And so whether it's through education, through products, through building relationships with them, we come to work every day because we want to help people enjoy the outdoors with their friends, with their family, with their pets, whoever they want to enjoy the outdoors with.

[00:05:57] And that definitely resonates with Minnesotans.

[00:05:59] We love the outdoors.

[00:06:00] Like right across the street, we have one of the best wildlife refuges in the country, not to mention throughout the metro and the state, all the great parks that you can visit.

[00:06:09] And I think the other piece in terms of the connection to Minnesota is that level of service, the fact that we kind of stand behind our product and the way we do things even logistically to put our frontline employees in a position to be able to say yes to customers.

[00:06:25] I can tell you, I've been in retail now for 25 years.

[00:06:28] And part of what brought me to Albine was we had tools and resources and policies that made it easy to say yes and find ways to get to a resolution with a customer if there was an issue like, you know, Steve described with those, that initial launch of Boots to be able to get to a point where the customer walks off really happy and we feel really good about it too.

[00:06:46] It's not like we feel like we lost in that transaction.

[00:06:49] We feel like we've won in that transaction.

[00:06:51] So I'd say those are probably the two biggest connections with our Minnesota customer.

[00:06:55] I think that's so important when you're able to empower your employees and it shows and you can feel it in the store.

[00:07:00] And there's been so many times that we've talked to you about what's the secret to your sauce to how you've been able to maintain and retain your employees because it has been a struggle for retail, especially over the last few years of being able to get the right customers in your doors because of that employee engagement.

[00:07:16] And would love to hear more about how Malv America sits within your larger portfolio, but how many stores do you have across the country and what does your employee base look like because you guys do maintain a really solid structure.

[00:07:29] So, Steve, do you mind sharing that with us?

[00:07:32] Yeah, totally.

[00:07:33] And a little more just to embarrass Guy a little bit.

[00:07:35] You talked about customer engagement and customer support.

[00:07:38] Guy and Mary and his whole team there are really some of the best in our entire fleet across our retail chain.

[00:07:45] And to embarrass Guy, he was our Beans Best winner, one of our Beans Best winners in 2021.

[00:07:50] Mary was a Beans Best winner in 2019.

[00:07:53] Beans Best is our internal recognition where peer-to-peer recommendations come in.

[00:08:00] We had over 3,000 nominees for Beans Best winners, and we end up landing with 13, and he was one of those in 2021.

[00:08:07] So I'll give you an idea of what he talks about.

[00:08:09] Well-deserved recognition.

[00:08:10] He's one of our favorites, so we concur.

[00:08:12] Yeah, definitely.

[00:08:12] And that engagement, I think the caliber that you need to operate at the Mall of America every day is the highest because you have so many great retailers, so many great managers and leaders for all those different brands in there.

[00:08:27] And I think it's really special for us because what Guy is doing there, he brings back to the rest of our fleet.

[00:08:34] Lots of our stores aren't – obviously no store is in any mall like the Mall of America.

[00:08:38] So the level of competition and excellence that you have there, then Guy brings back into our fleet, which is super cool.

[00:08:44] To answer your question, so we have 58 stores in the United States across 19 states.

[00:08:50] We also have 25 stores in Japan and 13 in Canada.

[00:08:56] Our sales basically break out – we are an e-commerce business first, so two-thirds of our sales are direct through e-commerce, and then about a third of our sales come through those 58 stores.

[00:09:08] And then for those of your listeners who have been to Maine, we have our Freeport flagship store, which is where L.L. Bean started in Freeport, Maine.

[00:09:17] That's where L.L. was from.

[00:09:19] And the flagship campus is 250,000 square feet.

[00:09:23] It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

[00:09:28] Prior to COVID, it had only ever been closed four times.

[00:09:31] But that store is the second most visited site in the state of Maine.

[00:09:36] So it's much – our campus – it's only – it's three or four million visitors, so I think you're 40 million visitors.

[00:09:41] So, you know, it's a Maine version of where you are.

[00:09:46] But that's our campus.

[00:09:47] We have about 5,000 employees year-round, and then we staff up an additional 4,000 employees November, December, and the beginning of January.

[00:09:58] And so, yeah, that's the size of our business.

[00:10:01] That's great.

[00:10:02] And I would love for you to share a little bit about your strategy for holiday shopping and how you ramp up your staff to accommodate the higher levels during the holidays because that seasonal staff is really imperative to the success, be able to deliver that customer service.

[00:10:18] So I think you guys have a creative way that you address that.

[00:10:20] So do you mind sharing?

[00:10:21] Yeah, I'd be happy to.

[00:10:22] One of the things that we've done is, like you mentioned, it's been really hard staffing across retail, across a lot of industries.

[00:10:29] And we found that, first off, our employees are our best resource.

[00:10:33] So I started this in a previous role, but we found that really reaching out to our team and asking them to bring buddies to work and really instead of just us being the managers out recruiting,

[00:10:45] basically telling our staff, hey, if you've got a cousin, a neighbor, a roommate that you would like to spend time with at work and help you over the holidays, reach out to them, have them join our team for a couple of months, work a handful of shifts, and go from there.

[00:10:57] The other piece has been key for us has been bringing back folks over and over again and really working hard to create an experience for them that maybe were their first job in high school and that they have a great experience.

[00:11:09] So every time it's winter break or spring break or summer break from college, they want to come back and work for us again and again.

[00:11:15] And that was another, I think, key, key component for us as a part of it.

[00:11:19] So I think once you start building those relationships with the current staff and then they bring the people they want to bring.

[00:11:26] I don't know if this is true for you, Steve, but I know I always love a good referral because generally people, if they're going to refer somebody who they know, they're not going to refer somebody who is not great.

[00:11:35] They're going to pick somebody who's going to make their job easier. And that's definitely been the case for us over the last several years.

[00:11:42] And we had to get to about 110 total employees for holiday this year.

[00:11:47] It's a lot of stuff happening and we need obviously a lot of great people to make it all work.

[00:11:51] That's great. That's great. And Steve, back to you, you talked about how LL Bean started really as an e-commerce brand.

[00:11:58] And there's been a lot of transition for brands with regards to if they started in e-commerce and shifted to brick and mortar or vice versa and looked at what is that important cross-section to have that connection with their customers.

[00:12:10] So talk a little bit about that strategy because I think that's really important for retailers to understand as they look to the future.

[00:12:16] Yeah, totally. So we started as a catalog retailer.

[00:12:19] So LL Bean was well known for its catalog. So a direct to consumer model.

[00:12:24] 1996, obviously previous management, previous leadership made the transition from catalog to e-commerce.

[00:12:30] And for us and for, you know, in the retail world, really one of the most graceful transitions because we were built to deliver individual products to individual homes.

[00:12:43] And we knew individual customers through the catalog business.

[00:12:46] So we really were a direct marketer. So very much the same model as e-com.

[00:12:50] He just put a different, you know, a different module on the front of using technology.

[00:12:53] Whereas so many other retailers have struggled where they are used to shipping from a distribution center to a store with a truckload of stuff, but can't actually deliver to the to the final household.

[00:13:04] So the e-commerce side of our business and the direct to consumer businesses there was very, very natural.

[00:13:10] And then we had this flagship store, one single store in Freeport all the way until I don't remember we opened our first store outside of Freeport.

[00:13:17] I think it was 94 or 96.

[00:13:21] And so it was right near the warehouse.

[00:13:22] So it was run sort of as a one off showpiece of our entire assortment.

[00:13:27] We have had to learn our way into stores and all of our systems and processes on, you know, how we do floor sets, how we get product to all of our operators.

[00:13:38] And we're still very much sort of learning our way into being a good brick and mortar retailer.

[00:13:45] What you see on the floor is absolutely fantastic, looks perfect, doesn't look different than other stores.

[00:13:50] What's happening behind the scenes is quite different as we're still working our way our way through.

[00:13:56] And but we're very much on a store growth mode.

[00:13:59] We typically have been opening sort of two or three stores a year and we're about to ramp that up to more than five, maybe up to 10 stores a year.

[00:14:06] We deeply believe in the physical store model.

[00:14:10] We think our products, you know, they when customers touch and feel and experience them and our people and the expertise, it's good for all of our business, including our e-commerce business.

[00:14:23] And then the final piece is there's a big technology link between those two channels and what we call our omni channel services.

[00:14:32] And the acronyms are insane.

[00:14:34] And so I'll drop them.

[00:14:36] I'll drop them on you and then I'll explain them because they're sort of fun.

[00:14:38] We have we have BOPIS, BOSFIS and BISO.

[00:14:42] And BOPIS is buy online, pick up in store.

[00:14:45] BOSFIS is buy online, ship from store.

[00:14:48] And BISO is buy in store, ship from the Order of Fulfillment Center.

[00:14:53] And all of those things are running in full operation now.

[00:14:57] Over the past two years, we've implemented all of them.

[00:15:00] And all of those are to provide a seamless customer experience, to be absolutely perfect for a customer.

[00:15:07] No matter how they are trying to purchase from us, we can fulfill the order and we can get them that product in whichever way they would like.

[00:15:16] And I would also add just one final thing just as a, I don't know, maybe an odd shout out.

[00:15:20] But we also have the best customers in the industry.

[00:15:28] Our long-term customers are just such incredible advocates for our brand, for our mission, for our purpose.

[00:15:35] And it's great.

[00:15:38] We learn a ton from them.

[00:15:39] We follow ratings and reviews.

[00:15:40] We listen to feedback from our customers, Guy and his team.

[00:15:44] You know, all feedback they get from customers, the processes to bring those insights back to us so that we can make better decisions in HQ is a really cool process.

[00:15:55] And we're really lucky to have great, loyal customers.

[00:16:00] Yeah, I'd echo that.

[00:16:01] I just, in my now eight years with LBean, over and over again, it's the first company I've worked for where that, I could see that feedback loop getting closed.

[00:16:09] Where customers tell us, we want this, we want that.

[00:16:11] We talk to the merchants.

[00:16:13] And then six to 12 months later, it's in the stores or it's on the website.

[00:16:17] So relying on that customer feedback, I think, has been fantastic.

[00:16:22] Because ultimately, if, you know, a satisfied customer is the goal.

[00:16:24] And if they tell you what you want and you don't deliver, you're going to be in trouble.

[00:16:27] But if you listen and follow through, that's going to be a much better outcome.

[00:16:32] Awesome.

[00:16:33] I don't want to brag because that's not who I am.

[00:16:37] But I am one of your loyal customers.

[00:16:40] As I'm wearing my L.L. Bean hat, I have my L.L. Bean gloves in front of me.

[00:16:44] I have plaid line jeans.

[00:16:46] I have sweaters.

[00:16:47] I have turtlenecks.

[00:16:48] I mean, I actually do love the brand.

[00:16:49] I've loved it for years.

[00:16:50] I loved it before I even worked at Mall of America.

[00:16:53] So I consider myself one of those folks.

[00:16:56] But I'm not a hunter.

[00:16:57] I'm not a fisher.

[00:16:58] But one of the things I love about your company is that you encourage people to, I looked this up on the website, right?

[00:17:04] Research is you want people to go for long walks and have even deeper talks.

[00:17:09] It's about connecting and being outdoors.

[00:17:12] Steve, I think that's part of your history.

[00:17:14] I would love to hear a little bit about that.

[00:17:16] And that after joining this company, what's your ideal day when you get to spend it outdoors?

[00:17:23] Super cool.

[00:17:24] Yeah.

[00:17:24] You know, it's funny what you just said there.

[00:17:25] You know, our stated purpose is to inspire and enable people to experience the restorative power of being outside.

[00:17:33] And those words are very carefully chosen.

[00:17:36] And experiencing the restorative power of being outside is something that LL knew when he created the company.

[00:17:43] And some of the quotes from him and from his books around, you know, the physical and spiritual and emotional benefits you get from being outdoors.

[00:17:51] We all, we think about that all the time.

[00:17:53] And especially now with, you know, there's so, so much stress, so much mental health, attention on mental health, that, you know, encouraging people to take time outside to restore themselves and rebuild their energy and all is really, really important.

[00:18:10] And for us, you know, you mentioned it there.

[00:18:12] It's, we want to, we, we want that to be very low barriers to entry, you know, going out for a walk, walking your dog, you know, just getting some time out on your backyard.

[00:18:23] It all counts.

[00:18:24] It's not just scheduling a hike or a paddle or doing something super ambitious, just getting outdoors and feeling nature, you know, feeling the wind in the air, whatever.

[00:18:33] We just, we deeply, deeply believe in that.

[00:18:38] What was your question?

[00:18:40] If you have a chance to spend a day outdoors, what do you do?

[00:18:44] How do you enjoy it?

[00:18:45] Yeah.

[00:18:47] As you would hope and expect, I have a ton of outdoor hobbies.

[00:18:51] So I do, I am authentic leader of the brand.

[00:18:54] And, and so, you know, I, I road bike, road cycle, I mountain bike, I stand up paddle board.

[00:19:04] I'm a new hunter.

[00:19:05] So I, I'm not from a hunting family, but when I joined LL Bean, I decided I wanted to learn how to hunt.

[00:19:11] And so I, I have found that to be incredibly peaceful.

[00:19:16] I'm not successful in the sense of, you know, of getting anything, but sitting in the woods in camouflage, completely silent with all of your senses, completely engaged and, and being invisible is absolutely magical and Zen-like.

[00:19:36] And it's very strange to then have, you know, a bow on your lap and you're sort of ready to do something, you know, whatever you're ready to do something.

[00:19:44] But the peacefulness of that is incredible.

[00:19:46] But for me, like if I choose, it would be, I have, I have two, I'm married with two daughters doing anything outdoors with them.

[00:19:53] I probably would pick stand up paddle board as sort of the first thing.

[00:19:58] Cause I just love that vantage point of standing on the top of water paddling around.

[00:20:03] Um, but really anytime anybody invites me to do anything outdoors, I'll drop whatever I'm doing and get out of the office and go and do it.

[00:20:12] Disconnect what we all need, right?

[00:20:14] Yeah.

[00:20:14] So guy, what's your go-to?

[00:20:16] Um, I'd say, uh, I kind of similar to Steve.

[00:20:19] I've, I'm married and I have a 11 year old daughter and it's doing anything with them.

[00:20:23] So it's maybe exploring Minnehaha park that's, uh, I live across from or, uh, going to one of the beaches at Lake Nokomis, just four miles north of the mall here.

[00:20:30] Um, or as a family or one of my favorite trips is to go to the North shore of Lake Superior, which is a unique kind of splendorous place, uh, to visit.

[00:20:38] Uh, and one of my favorite places to be.

[00:20:40] So whether it's, you know, hiking along the trails there or just putzing around, uh, the shore of Lake Superior, uh, any of those things have really with them and kind of exploring.

[00:20:49] Um, and, uh, I like to run.

[00:20:50] Uh, so I'm one of those weirdos, even in this kind of weather, we'll get out there and, uh, put some miles down.

[00:20:55] Uh, but it's, uh, I think, uh, the same idea as Steve is just any excuse to get out there and explore and kind of, uh, be in that, in that space for a little bit.

[00:21:04] It makes a huge, it's just always up for it.

[00:21:07] So Dan, you have some of your favorite products with you, it looks like.

[00:21:11] So do you have your go-to item or your recommendation for listeners and viewers?

[00:21:17] Yeah.

[00:21:17] I love so many things I've, I've, uh, been able to get at LL Bean.

[00:21:21] I will tell you my two favorites that I have, uh, is I love the mock turtlenecks.

[00:21:26] They just, they hold up and they're comfortable and they're warm and I just love them.

[00:21:31] And the other thing that I got this year for the first time, I have three grandkids is I got one of the inner tube, um, sleds and they absolutely adore it because it's more comfortable than, than what they were using the old plastic, you know, thing.

[00:21:45] So those are two, but honestly, uh, anything I've ever gotten there and some of the food items you get at the checkout lane, like the maple candies.

[00:21:54] Oh yeah.

[00:21:55] Oh, that's like heaven.

[00:21:57] They are.

[00:21:58] It's just sugar.

[00:21:59] Yeah.

[00:22:00] That's a little bit higher than chicken.

[00:22:02] So speaking of food, we have a colleague, Chris Gropp, who loves your spicy peanuts.

[00:22:07] So he said, please tell them today, never to discontinue those peanuts.

[00:22:11] Those are fan favorites.

[00:22:13] Um, I have to say one of my annual trips and guy always gets a chance to connect with me when I do my annual shopping trip.

[00:22:20] My father, who's now 90, um, loves getting his annual flannel every year, his plaid flannel.

[00:22:27] And it's the classic cut and he loves it.

[00:22:29] And I'm always looking for what's the new color this year.

[00:22:32] Cause I have to extend his wardrobe.

[00:22:33] Um, but there's just some of those items that are just, you have to have in your closet, which are great.

[00:22:38] So Guy and Steve, we need to hear from you guys.

[00:22:40] What's your go-to, your favorite item in your store?

[00:22:43] Um, I I'd say for me, uh, uh, adjacent to the Scotch plaid flannels are our chamois shirts.

[00:22:49] Uh, we've got a couple of different versions.

[00:22:51] Uh, the original one was actually designed by LL, I think back in the 1930s.

[00:22:55] It was his sort of favorite shirt.

[00:22:56] Um, it's, it's a heavier fabric than the Scotch plaid flannel.

[00:22:59] Uh, I think that's my favorite, uh, just because, uh, it's incredibly soft.

[00:23:02] It's incredibly warm and it just fall, spring and, uh, winter.

[00:23:07] It's just a great shirt to have.

[00:23:08] And we have great solids, great, uh, plaids, uh, a few great patterns as well.

[00:23:12] So I'd say the, the chamois shirts are my, my favorite, uh, in there.

[00:23:15] Okay.

[00:23:16] Steve, you're up.

[00:23:17] Well, first Jill, tell your dad.

[00:23:20] So we just had the men's fall 24 product review, and there are four new Scotch plaid,

[00:23:28] uh, patterns coming out next fall.

[00:23:30] They'll be out in July or August.

[00:23:32] So there's a bunch of new styles and, uh, and, and plaids coming.

[00:23:36] Great.

[00:23:36] Um, I would have said, uh, so chamois shirt for sure.

[00:23:40] Um, if I'm dressing up, which, you know, I don't really dress up, but our, our commando

[00:23:45] sweater, um, which is in our hunt fish line.

[00:23:47] And I think, uh, you probably have some of that assortment store, the commando sweater.

[00:23:51] Yeah.

[00:23:51] Love that.

[00:23:52] Um, and then this season, the, uh, utility jacket, the insulated utility jacket, it's a

[00:23:59] canvas, uh, a rough canvas, uh, insulated jacket.

[00:24:02] It's just, um, I'm loving that.

[00:24:04] I definitely get spoiled in sort of every season, like getting, buying whatever is new.

[00:24:09] So my favorites are always sort of the most recent products that I've been, been wearing.

[00:24:13] And then interesting, the, all of our Tropic Wear Pro, which is actually summer, spring,

[00:24:19] summer stuff.

[00:24:20] The hoodies are the best things for outdoor activities.

[00:24:24] So, uh, it's like children.

[00:24:27] Like I love all of our products and I wear all of them.

[00:24:30] I'm a hundred percent LL Bean at all times.

[00:24:32] Yes.

[00:24:33] My very first purchase was from the catalog was one of the shirts.

[00:24:37] I just love them as well.

[00:24:39] Can I ask another question?

[00:24:40] Is that all right, Jill?

[00:24:41] Steve, this is actually for you.

[00:24:42] And you talked about being outdoors and, and how it brings peace and calm and, and can help

[00:24:47] you center, but sometimes big decisions or big questions happen while one is out on a

[00:24:53] hike.

[00:24:53] Has that ever happened to you?

[00:24:55] Oh my God.

[00:24:56] All the time.

[00:24:56] All the time.

[00:24:57] I'm thinking of one specific one, perhaps that maybe with a significant person in your life.

[00:25:03] Did you?

[00:25:04] Oh, when I asked Lynn to marry me?

[00:25:06] I'm not Washington.

[00:25:07] Yeah, I'd love to hear that.

[00:25:10] How do you know that?

[00:25:11] How did you find that out?

[00:25:12] A little birdie might've shared a little story with her.

[00:25:13] We do our research.

[00:25:15] Oh, that's totally awesome.

[00:25:17] Oh my God.

[00:25:18] Yeah.

[00:25:18] So I'll tell you that story and then I'll also tell you something else.

[00:25:21] So yeah.

[00:25:21] So Lynn, my wife, we both worked in New York City and every weekend we would escape to

[00:25:27] the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

[00:25:28] Her dad had built an A-frame there.

[00:25:30] And then I have a place in the Adirondacks.

[00:25:32] So we were always heading up there.

[00:25:33] And when I decided to get engaged, I bought the ring, which we were poor.

[00:25:41] And so that ring was like the scariest thing ever.

[00:25:43] And I put it in my backpack.

[00:25:45] I actually had it in the pocket that's right here on the backpack so I could touch it and

[00:25:50] feel where the box was.

[00:25:52] And we always did an annual trip in the White Mountains with all of our closest friends.

[00:25:56] And so yeah, we climbed up Mount Washington.

[00:25:58] We were staying at the Lakes of the Clouds hut there.

[00:26:02] And in the evening, we went outside and it was all fogged in and moving out to Lakes of the

[00:26:06] Clouds, which is the lake at the top of Mount Washington.

[00:26:09] And that's where we got engaged.

[00:26:11] And I asked and she answered yes.

[00:26:14] And I was able to put the ring on and then I didn't have to carry it anymore.

[00:26:18] And then she had to deal with it for the rest of the hike.

[00:26:21] So yeah, I love that.

[00:26:23] I love that.

[00:26:23] And I also, the other answer to it from a business perspective is I really do think,

[00:26:28] and for me, when I'm outdoors, when I'm doing something with some exertion, like that's where

[00:26:34] the most creative thought, the most problem solving occurs.

[00:26:37] You get your head clear, you get blood moving around, and I find high productivity.

[00:26:41] And my executive assistant in the communications team, they get breathless voice memos from

[00:26:51] me because I'll be doing something somewhere and some beautiful, you know, great idea will

[00:26:56] come and I like, and I have to record it.

[00:26:58] I have to get it captured because it's happening in the moment.

[00:27:00] So it's another habit I have of trying to do these little voice recordings of ideas and

[00:27:05] thoughts and stuff.

[00:27:06] And it's inspired from the outdoors.

[00:27:08] That is great.

[00:27:10] Well, we-

[00:27:10] That's really funny that you did that.

[00:27:13] Good storytelling.

[00:27:14] Love it.

[00:27:15] So we're going to wrap up this podcast with you guys, giving us a little glimpse into the

[00:27:19] future.

[00:27:19] You talked a little bit about product reviews and getting ready for upcoming seasons.

[00:27:24] You know, you're a hundred year old company and you have to continually reinvent yourself

[00:27:28] to connect with the next generation.

[00:27:30] So give us a little glimpse of what's in store for LL Bean in the future.

[00:27:34] So whoever wants to go first.

[00:27:36] Guy, do you want to kick us off?

[00:27:37] I think I could say at the store level, and I think I've heard Steve talk about this a

[00:27:40] little bit as well, of it's the challenge is always knowing there are certain core values

[00:27:46] of the company and certain ways we've done things that you don't want to let go of.

[00:27:49] So whether it's our core values around perseverance, service, integrity, now how we express those

[00:27:55] might evolve and change over time as you learn new things.

[00:27:58] And I think that's the big challenge is understanding what do we want to keep and hold on to and

[00:28:03] say, this can never, you know, this has to stay true.

[00:28:05] And then what are the new things we have to pick up or how do we add to that?

[00:28:09] Or how do we express that in a new and different way?

[00:28:11] So like you mentioned with the, you know, omni-channel changes, it's about, it's still about customer

[00:28:18] service.

[00:28:18] It's still about connecting with that one individual over a particular product or group of

[00:28:22] products.

[00:28:22] Um, but it's still about, uh, using new tools and new ways to connect with them over that

[00:28:27] product.

[00:28:28] So I think that's the, that's the big challenge going forward.

[00:28:30] That's great.

[00:28:31] Anything to add, Steve?

[00:28:33] Yeah, I mean, just, you know, for us, uh, store expansion is a huge opportunity for us.

[00:28:38] Geographic expansion.

[00:28:39] We are still, you know, a Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and then we come out obviously across the Northern

[00:28:45] Midwest, but we have lots of opportunity out West in the Southwest and in the Southeast.

[00:28:50] So geographic expansion, store expansion, and then continuing to improve our warm weather

[00:28:55] credibility.

[00:28:56] Um, and you know, we are, we are the destination for cold weather, you know, for fall, winter,

[00:29:02] cold weather product.

[00:29:03] And we have spectacular spring and summer products.

[00:29:07] And there's such a great outdoor activity peak with hiking and camping and all.

[00:29:10] And we need to continue to push ourselves to be known for that spring, summer, warm weather

[00:29:16] credibility.

[00:29:17] And the merchants and the product developers are working on all kinds of great new stuff.

[00:29:21] Um, and to get ourselves, uh, to be more balanced spring, summer, uh, to our already

[00:29:27] really successful fall, winter.

[00:29:29] And they're fun.

[00:29:29] They're all sort of building on successes.

[00:29:31] Like we don't have a lot of, there are always things to fix, but we don't have any major

[00:29:35] deficiencies.

[00:29:36] It's really about looking at opportunities that are in front of us that we think where we

[00:29:40] should have success and we should, we should win.

[00:29:42] That's great.

[00:29:43] Well, all of the seasons happen here in Minnesota.

[00:29:46] So we look forward to extended product lines, but thank you to both guys, Steve.

[00:29:52] Thank you.

[00:29:52] We really appreciate your time today, but also appreciate your partnership here at

[00:29:56] Mall of America.

[00:29:57] We are thrilled to have Ella being here, um, for some, for the 10 years you've been here

[00:30:01] thus far.

[00:30:02] And hopefully there's many more years to come.

[00:30:04] So thank you for your partnership.

[00:30:05] Thank you, Dan, for joining us today.

[00:30:07] And thanks to all of our viewers and listeners.

[00:30:10] Um, we really appreciate it.

[00:30:12] And this is going to do it for this episode of so much more.

[00:30:14] So we look forward to hearing from you later and tune into where you find your favorite

[00:30:18] podcast.

[00:30:20] Thanks for listening to so much more.

[00:30:22] I'm all of America podcasts.

[00:30:23] Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

[00:30:26] This show is presented by Bloomington, Minnesota travel and tourism.