LL Bean FY'13 net sales rise 3%

08 Mar '14

4 min read

L.L.Bean announced a positive close to its 2013 fiscal year. On the basis of the business performance for 2013, the company announced its intent to pay 8% performance bonuses to approximately 5,000 full and part-time employees.

For the 2013 fiscal year ending February 23, 2014, L.L.Bean reported annual net sales of $1.56 billion, a 3% increase over 2012.

“L.L.Bean has performed very well in a marketplace that continued to struggle - with economic uncertainty, political distractions and shaky consumer confidence,” said Chris McCormick, L.L.Bean’s President and CEO. “The company’s solid performance in fiscal 2013 is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication of our employees. The positive performance is also the outcome of strategies and investments put in motion in 2010 while the economy was still in a recession.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express our appreciation to the L.L.Bean employees that made this happen,” said Shawn Gorman, L.L.Bean’s Chairman of the Board. “This year-end bonus is in recognition of their hard work, and a tribute to the strategies and investments we set in motion in 2010 that positioned the company for growth.

We have an amazingly talented team in place and are pleased to continue the family’s commitment to keeping employee and shareholder interests aligned and reward our employees for their hard work, dedication and achievements.”

In addition to the bonus announcement, the company also reported to its employees the additional contribution of $40 million to fully fund its defined benefit pension program. Combined with the bonus, this represents a $78.5 million investment in L.L.Bean employees.

McCormick went on to elaborate on the results of 2013. “We have made substantial investments in our website as well as in our internal processes, all with a goal of providing better product assortment and quality service to our customers. These investments have paid off in increased online sales, greater productivity and wide appeal for new fits and styles in Men’s, Women’s and Outerwear, as well as an expanded Active line.

In addition we saw growth in Sporting Equipment with strong performance in our Hunting and Fishing lines as people continue to spend more time outdoors. Our Maine-made L.L.Bean Boot production is at an all-time high, demonstrating Bean’s first product is as relevant today as it was 101 years ago.”

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