The business of L.L. Bean boots
L.L.Bean is a privately held, family-owned company that was founded by Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912. The company has 19 U.S. retail stores outside Maine, 53 stores in China, and 19 in Japan. The L.L. Bean website was launched in 1995, but it is their iconic catalog - found on coffee tables and offices in over 170 countries - that helps to bring their global annual sales to $1.56 billion. Bloomberg's Scott Eisen photographed the L.L. Bean's factory in Maine, where 450 employees make approximately 1,300 boots per day.
A worker uses a die-cutting machine to cut out shapes of leather to be sewn into boots at the L.L. Bean Inc. manufacturing facility in Brunswick, Maine, U.S.
Pieces of leather sit in piles before being made into boots.
A worker adds glue to boot soles before boot uppers are attached.
Boot uppers sit in a box before being connected to rubber soles. Approximately 1,300 pairs of boots per day are manufactured at the Maine factory.
A worker adds a triple stitch to boots.
The company currently recycles over 83 per cent of its waste.
Over 450 people are employed at L.L. Bean Inc.'s Maine factory.
A worker packages boots for shipping. L.L.Bean reintroduced everyday free shipping in March 2011 for all US and Canadian orders with no minimum purchase and no end date.
Finished boots sit before being packaged and shipped.
Signage stands outside the L.L. Bean Inc. manufacturing facility in Brunswick, Maine, U.S.