L.L. Bean Goes Fishing

L.L. Bean Inc. (Freeport, Me.) reported a 9 percent increase in net sales for its 2004 fiscal year ending Feb. 27, 2005.

“Much of this year’s credit goes to our employees who served the customer during a record Christmas period which helped drive our sales increase,” said president and ceo Chris McCormick. “And with the introduction of new colors, updated styles, improved pricing and renewed strength in the company’s hard-goods business, we made improvements in our product line that were well received by our customers. . . . Our top-line growth and market share performance were outstanding, and our brand’s visibility has never been higher. All sales channels – catalog, web, and retail – delivered positive year over year results, and we added many new customers in the process.

“On the other hand,” he continued, “we continue to operate in a price deflationary retail environment, which puts significant pressure on margins and operations. As a result, we are spending more marketing dollars than ever to drive unit sales while making considerable investments in new technologies and marketing initiatives to deliver future sales growth. The retail business climate is very competitive; therefore, we are positioning L.L. Bean to effectively respond.”

The company has budgeted to add six first-line retail store locations in the 2005-2007 period, beginning with a factory store conversion in West Lebanon, N.H., in 2005, followed by two new stores in 2006 and three in 2007.

All new store additions are planned for the New England/Mid-Atlantic region.