Product Analysis Assignment: The Maine Hunting Shoe

Product Analysis: The Maine Hunting Shoe
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Product Analysis: The Maine Hunting Shoe
The L.L Bean Company named after its founder Leon Leonwood Bean has been in existence for over 100 years. The company was founded in 1912 and is located in Freeport, Maine. The company began in a single room in Maine selling its first and only product, the Maine Hunting Shoe—which is currently known as the L.L Bean Boot. The production of the first pair of the Maine boots can be traced back to 1911. The founder, Mr. L.L Bean was an avid hunter and loved the outdoors. Mr. L.L Bean discovered that while outdoors the usual pair of boots he adorned did not protect his feet from getting wet and cold. Mr. Leon, consequently, decided to design his own pair of outdoor shoes by combining the normal leather uppers with the rubber soles of rain shoes. And thus, the Maine shoe was born (Wells, 2016).
The Maine Hunting Shoe was first advertised in a circular which served as the earliest form of direct mail advertising. The circulars were mailed to all known outdoorsmen within and outside of Maine. The boot was marketed as a very light moccasin which had the durability and purpose of a heavy hunting shoe. Moreover, the boot was well-priced and had a money back guarantee. The marketing applied by Mr. Leon was flawless; however, the boots failed him. The production of the first boots was well received in the market, but there was a defect with the shoe as the rubber and leather connection did not hold. Mr. Leon’s money back guarantee enticed many customers, but he was forced to return many of the shoes due to the shoe sole defect. Nonetheless, the founder and creator, Mr. Bean, decided to outsource specialty shoe soles from the US Rubber Company and never since have the soles failed. Thereafter, the Maine Hunting Shoe became successful, and Leon decided to expand to other states in the country. Bean continued to use the direct mail advertising as the company’s primary advertising stream. Additionally, the stores would rem...