L.L.Bean makes Forbes' 2017 best 'mid-size companies' list

Photo Courtesy / L.L. Bean Stephen Smith, L.L.Bean's president and CEO. Forbes magazine ranks the Freeport-based retailer 15th in its 2017 list of 300 best mid-size companies in the nation.

Write a Comment

By Staff

L.L.Bean is the only Maine company named to Forbes magazine’s list of the 300 best mid-size companies in the nation.

The Freeport-based outdoor retailer is 15th on Forbes’ 2017 list of best companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees, which was published Tuesday.

“What started out as a one-man operation in 1912 with one product, the Maine hunting shoe, has expanded into one of the largest catalog and online retailers of outdoor specialty goods in the world,” Forbes stated in its brief summary. “L.L.Bean, the namesake of founder Leon Leonwood Bean, operates 30 retail stores outside of Maine (with two more scheduled to open this spring) and 10 factory outlets in the U.S. and 25 retail stores in Japan, in addition to its catalog and online sales operations. Products range from that same hunting shoe to weatherproof tents, flannel shirts, luggage and ice fishing gear. In recent years, the company has expanded its footprint outside its native northeast, opening stores as far west as Illinois and south as Virginia, in addition to establishing a considerable presence in Japan.”

The list is based on an independent survey of 30,000 U.S. employees working for companies employing at least 1,000 people.

Forbes reported that of the qualities that drove employer recommendations, the primary factors were atmosphere at work (25%) and pride in service or products the company provides. That was followed by salary, which was a 16% driver of a high company recommendation.