“They are very practical, but they’ve also become a fashion trend,’’ she said. “They’re simple and kind of have that rugged look that has been adopted as a fashionable thing.’’
Sales have grown from 150,000 pairs four years ago to about 400,000 this year, said Jack Samson, L.L. Bean senior manager for manufacturing. Next year, demand is projected to reach 500,000.
Defying a trend toward offshore production, the outdoors retailer is adding 125 full-time employees to its Maine manufacturing operation.
The well-known boot appears to be benefiting from a retro trend, whether it’s penny loafers or the Gap’s 1969 series blue jeans, said Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail in New York.
“It’s sort of like the Coca-Cola bottle or the sleek silver lines of Apple,’’ Corlett said. “It’s iconic. And when you have that kind of icon, you leverage it.
The good news is that L.L. Bean’s icon from decades ago is striking an emotional chord with people who are yearning for the good old days.’’
Another factor that could be helping Bean: There has been little that is new and exciting in footwear in recent years beyond UGG boots and Crocs, said Alexander Geyman, editor of Focus on Fashion Retail. Trendy UGG boots and the Timberland brand outstrip Bean’s in sales, he said.
The original hunting shoe is not revered just at L.L. Bean. It has become something of an unofficial symbol of Maine, like the rocky coast and lobsters.
This holiday season, L.L. Bean, with headquarters in Freeport, featured one of its factory workers in a national television advertising campaign that capitalized on the boot’s popularity. And the boots carry the “Made in the USA’’ label, something that is hard to find these days in footwear.
