L.L. Bean: The Man and His Company

The story begins with the Bean family young Leon Leonwood Beans love of the outdoors his first forays into sales (soap mens clothing) and then his development of the boot and the beginnings of an outdoors outfitting company that ran on a card file system and resisted change. The story of L.L. Bean Inc.s phenomenal growth under grandson Leon Gorman is replete with Preppies MBAs infighting and even parodies of a company that would eventually get its own Zip Code.