L.L.Bean is the industry leader in providing to its customers, outdoor equipment and apparel. With growing competition and a stagnant economy, the company must continually work to maintain sales, profits, and customer loyalty. L.L.Bean does this by focusing on the competitive forces prevailing throughout the business environment. These forces include new market entreats, the power of the buyer and the supplier, the growing threat of substitute products, and their competition.
L.L.Bean’s Competitive Forces
L.L.Bean works hard to reduce the threat of new entrants to the marketplace by erecting barriers to entry. L.L.Bean accomplishes this by offering products or services that are difficult to displace in the eyes of customers. L.L.Bean products are recognized around the world for their practical design and high quality. L.L.Bean has built its brand by maintaining customer perceptions of quality and service. The company conducts business with the belief that the brand should reflect the values of L.L.Bean, along with the products it sells (Reed et al., 2009).
The company devotes significant time and energy to product research, testing and development. This process includes lab tests, field testers and employee and customer feedback. L.L.Bean operates its own independent test lab for scientific analysis of materials, construction and design. Prototypes for new products are tested, revised and retested in a continuous cycle until they meet customer requirements and L.L.Bean quality standards. The company also brings new and innovative products into the marketplace through extensive interviews with customers and subsequent concept development meetings that help ensure the products being designed will meet specific customer requirements for outdoor clothing and gear. L.L.Bean product expertise is also reinforced by a group of 1,300 independent field testers –