{"id":224102,"date":"2026-09-14T01:42:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T01:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/how-l-l-bean-embraces-its-old-school-roots-brick-and-mortar-stores-print-catalogs-no-ai-nbcnews-com\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T01:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T01:42:46","slug":"how-l-l-bean-embraces-its-old-school-roots-brick-and-mortar-stores-print-catalogs-no-ai-nbcnews-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/how-l-l-bean-embraces-its-old-school-roots-brick-and-mortar-stores-print-catalogs-no-ai-nbcnews-com\/","title":{"rendered":"How L.L.Bean embraces its old-school roots: Brick-and-mortar stores, print catalogs, no AI – nbcnews.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
L.L.Bean\u2019s origin story grew from the ground up \u2014 literally.
The company, which sells everything from clothing and footwear to tote bags and home goods, was first established in 1912 after its namesake founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, returned home from a hunting trip with sore, wet feet.
\u201cHe said, \u2018I have an innovative solution,\u2019\u201d CEO Greg Elder said in an interview, part of NBC News\u2019 \u201cBusiness in America\u201d initiative<\/a>. \u201c\u2018What if I developed the waterproofness of a rubber bottom and stitched on a leather upper?\u2019\u201d
L.L. Bean CEO on how he manages his day to day
And with that, the famous L.L.Bean boot \u2014 and a $2 billion company \u2014 was born. Since then, the brand has embraced its rugged roots and remains headquartered in Freeport, Maine, a coastal town 20 minutes north of Portland.
\u201cIt\u2019s worked for us 100-plus years and it\u2019s going to work for us for another 100-plus years,\u201d said Elder, who has been at the company for nearly two decades. He emphasized L.L.Bean has no plans to relocate its operations.
\u201cWe are a family-owned, privately held company,\u201d he said. \u201cThe family remains steadfast in their desire to keep this based in Freeport, Maine, where we\u2019ve always been.\u201d
It\u2019s a legacy the brand\u2019s flagship Freeport store has doubled down on. The famous retail location recently underwent<\/a> a four-year, $50 million renovation. It\u2019s also the only stand-alone L.L.Bean store that\u2019s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
As more retailers adopt direct-to-consumer and online-only business models, L.L.Bean maintains a significant footprint in brick and mortar across the country \u2014 around 60 store locations in 22 states.
\u201cThe customer says they love to be able to come in and touch and feel the product, they love to be able to try it on and feel the fabrics,\u201d Elder said.
Then there\u2019s the famous L.L.Bean catalog, a long-standing mail-order look book featuring the latest seasonal products and designs.
First launched in 1912 as the business was just getting off the ground, the physical publication has seen daily mailing volumes decline by an estimated 10% to 14% each year, according to Elder.
Still, he said it\u2019s not going anywhere. \u201cThere is nothing in the foreseeable future that would suggest we\u2019re going to eliminate the catalog.\u201d
And it\u2019s a catalog made the old-fashioned way \u2014 without the use of AI.
\u201cWe still believe in our hearts that old-school photography with real products on a real human is the way to go for our brand and our brand\u2019s reputation,\u201d Elder said.
As for how L.L.Bean is incorporating AI into its business, Elder said the company is \u201ccurious\u201d about areas where it might \u201cfit for our brand,\u201d but isn\u2019t actively searching for ways to deploy the technology.
\u201cThat\u2019s not who we are. That\u2019s not in our DNA. We still revolve around the personal selling experience,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re quite cautious about some of the risks.\u201d
This approach differs from those of many other high-profile retailers that have rushed to embrace AI in efforts to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and boost profits.
Elder said AI\u2019s environmental footprint, including its massive energy and water demands<\/a>, has been a particular deterrent to more widespread adoption at L.L.Bean, which prides itself on being a sustainable outdoor brand.
\u201cThis computing power has an impact on the environment without question,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m really hoping that we can find the beautiful intersection of the use of this technology that provides employee and customer productivity, [but] still takes heed to the needs of sustainability, and retains and protects the humanity that is uniquely culturally L.L.Bean.\u201d
Until then, Elder said, the company is comfortable staying on the sidelines of the AI race.
\u201cIt may be a little atypical,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you know, that\u2019s who we are.\u201d
Allie Canal is a business reporter for NBC News.
Savannah Sellers is an anchor and correspondent for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeL.L.Bean\u2019s origin story grew from the ground up \u2014 literally.The company, which sells everything from clothing and footwear to tote bags and home goods, was first established in 1912 after its namesake founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, returned home from a hunting trip with sore, wet feet.\u201cHe said, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}