L.L. Bean is going to launch a “Signature” line, which follows on the heels of Lands’ End newly launched “Canvas” line. I find it interesting that both companies have decided to launch new lines aimed at the young adults. I’m assuming that both of their market research shows that they are primarily shopped by older consumers and that they may have perception problems among younger consumers. While cruising the L.L. Bean website, check out their reviews- most consumers seem to be over 45. Not that there is anything wrong with most of their reviews being written by older people, but being 25, I do wonder if I will agree with older women about the fit of garments. It also makes me contemplate why I am purchasing clothes that more mature women favor.
I do think that these two new lines can fill a void in the current market. From the Lands’ End Canvas site and the pre-launch of the L.L. Bean Signature site, both lines look similar in design to J.Crew, a modern take on classic items. Also, great offerings for young professionals.
What sets the lines apart from J.Crew is their price points; they aren’t as expensive as J.Crew. To me, that’s point to L.L. Bean and Lands’ End, and minus one to J.Crew. From my experience, L.L. Bean offers higher quality items than J.Crew as J.Crew’s items can be flimsy at times. Now that L.L. Bean will be offering clothes with more modern cuts, they definitely have my attention.
Signature L.L. Bean appears to be serious about giving the launch a strong start, they even snagged Maggie Rizer to model for their first marketing campaign.
If L.L. Bean and Lands End are targeting younger demos they might want to “seed” their reviews and/or message boards with younger influencers, especially if it’s a potential deterrent for you. Also, I’m curious if you’ve noticed whether they are leveraging social media and other new media to reach out to these younger consumers?
Hey Michael, thanks for the comment.
I haven’t noticed L.L. Bean or Land’s End using social media to reach out to younger consumers or “fans” recommending their products on forums. It’s not to say that they aren’t doing it, but it just hasn’t reached my usual sources. Let’s also keep in mind that both of these companies primarily sold their products through catalogs, therefore I’m not sure that they are as savvy at using online, mobile, or social advertising methods. It seems to me that stores and services that originated on the internet, such as Gilt Groupe or ShopStyle, are more adept at taking advantage of newer advertising outlets.
Update: Not to say that L.L. Bean and Land’s End aren’t running online ads targeted at younger consumers, it’s just that my recall of their ads is almost nonexistent. My recall for Gilt and ShopStyle ads is higher and more positive, as these two sites run place ads on websites that bring me amusement on a near-daily basis (Last.fm and Gawker).
While I can’t speak for L.L. Bean (yet), I can say that I came across Lands’ End using social media to engage consumers whilst working on an internet marketing assignment for school. As L.L. Bean is a competitor I’ll be researching also, I’ll know more then about whether they are as well.
More companies are getting involved (and are hiring those who are savvy enough to do it) in order to compete in today’s sales climate, so it’s no surprise if they’ve jumped on the bandwagon too.