L.L. Bean - Boat and Tote®, Open-Top

We believe the more time you spend outside together, the better. That’s why we design products that make it easier to take longer walks, have deeper talks and never worry about the weather. It’s like our founder always said – being outside brings out the best in us.

Leon Leonwood Bean was born in 1872, in Greenwood, Maine. Orphaned at the age of 12, he grew up working on the farms of various relatives and friends. After attending Kent’s Hill Commercial College, he worked as a clerk in his brother Otho’s shoe store. In 1895, Otho opened a second store in Freeport, Maine, called Bean Bros. and hired L.L. to manage it. In 1911, L.L.’s passion for the outdoors and Yankee ingenuity came together with the birth of the Maine Hunting Shoe and the L.L.Bean company.

An outdoorsman first and businessman second, Leon Leonwood Bean grew up in western Maine, hunting and fishing every chance he could. Stints working at shoe and apparel shops around Maine gave “L.L.” plenty of retail experience and paid the bills. But he lived for weekends, filled with the thrill of the chase and the camaraderie of fellow hunters.

He was just back from a hunting expedition – footsore from wearing clunky leather boots that leaked and then stiffened as they dried – when inspiration struck. “I took a pair of shoe rubbers from the stock on the shelves and had a shoe maker cut out a pair of 7 1/2 inch tops. The local cobbler stitched the whole thing together.” And, in 1911, the Maine Hunting Shoe was born, and New England’s notoriously rugged, boggy terrain was about to meet its match.

When L.L. Bean started his company, his view of serving the customer was as revolutionary as his product. He said, “A customer is the most important person ever in this office – in person or by mail.” Whether seeking expert advice or purchasing goods, customers quickly learned that L.L.Bean wasn’t like other companies of the day.

One of Wall Street Journal’s Top Ten Entrepreneurs of the 20th century, L.L. became a pioneer of direct marketing. The fact that he was an outdoorsman who personally developed, tested and guaranteed his products established him as one of the most respected names in the business.

L.L. ran his company until his death at the age of 94 on February 5, 1967. “One thing I learned throughout my lifetime,” he often said, “is the fact that outdoor recreation, such as hunting, fishing and camping, has added years to my life span.”