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The travel industry today is experiencing an unprecedented boom and with it, the travel merchandise industry has truly blossomed. One of the most well-established mail-order companies for casualwear, L.L. Bean is the latest to address this growing market with its new TRAVELER catalog.

Imagine my delightful surprise last year when I received email from Steve Fuller, VP and general manager for L.L. Bean's newest catalog line, "TRAVELER", introducing this new catalog to me and the readers of the Travelite FAQ. I could barely contain my glee when he told me that the folks in his group really enjoy the Travelite FAQ, and that some of the information here has helped to shape their direction! [If you get a hard copy of the TRAVELER catalog this spring, I am happy to report that the Travelite.org URL is listed there as a recommended site!]

So it is with great joy that I am able to present you with an interview with Steve Fuller of L.L. Bean. [Clicking on the thumbnail photos on the right will open up a large window with their full-sized photos.]

Background

Travelite: What prompted L.L. Bean to produce a travel-specific catalog, and why now?

Fuller: Two primary reasons :

After 88 years of manufacturing luggage, our customer base and product line had grown to the point where they were large enough to sustain a freestanding catalog dedicated to travel. Sales over the past several years were also indicating an increased interest in the category.
At the same time, these customers were asking us for more travel related products, particularly in the clothing and accessory areas. But many of these specialty items didn't have the mass appeal to qualify for the more broadly mailed "regular" L.L. Bean catalogs. Take currency converters for example. While an absolute must for the overseas traveler, a converter's limited appeal would make it challenging to sell through our core catalogs. TRAVELER's smaller and more targeted circulation allows us to carry a full assortment of these items.

Travelite: Explain why the L.L. Bean TRAVELER catalog has a different look and feel from your other L.L. Bean catalogs.

Fuller: Our hope was to reinforce that TRAVELER is truly a different catalog than the core L.L. Bean catalog. While we share the same high customer service standards and 100% satisfaction guarantee as our parent company, the merchandise selection in TRAVELER is geared completely to the traveler.

We also wanted the TRAVELER catalog to reflect our customer's passion for travel. So we filled the margins with packing lists, book recommendations, music recommendation, our favorite hotels and travel tips -- editorial that would be out of place in our core catalogs.

Travelite: Who is your primary target for TRAVELER, and does it differ from the general catalog audience?

Fuller: Plain and simply, our goal is to appeal to the person who loves to travel.

Relative to our general catalog audience, we've found that our customer is a little older, has slightly more disposable income and is more likely to be web enabled --- we often describe them as "curious," both culturally and geographically.

The Products

Travelite: How does your team decide what goes into the catalog?

Fuller: Believe it or not, most products are suggested by customers. Whether through focus groups, letters, email, our retail store, sitting next to a TRAVELER team member on a flight ---- we get an amazing number of great suggestions for either new products or tweaks to existing ones.

Another big percentage comes from within L.L. Bean or the TRAVELER team itself. Last year L.L. Bean employees flew over 9.75 million miles on business. As a result, many have strong suggestions as to what they'd like to see in our travel line. A good example is our Microfiber luggage collection. Some women here at the company thought they could design a luggage line specifically for the needs of female travelers. They pulled together some designs, we prototyped the collection and it's been a huge success.

Travelite: How do the products in the travel catalog differ from the merchandise in the other catalogs? Is there overlap?

Fuller: Roughly 10% - 15% of our products may appear in other L.L. Bean catalogs, everything else is only shown in TRAVELER.

Travelite: How often do you intend to introduce/rotate merchandise?

Fuller: The timing of new product introductions is an area that we're still exploring. On one hand, a versatile travel color palette is fairly neutral: blacks, greys and navys. Keeping our core product selection stable also allows customers to buy outfits over several seasons, knowing that they'll all work together. At the same time, keeping the line fresh and new adds interest for our customers.

At a minimum, you should expect to see new products in L.L.Bean TRAVELER catalogs at least four times a year. Accessory pieces may change more often, core items less often.

Spring 2000 Webzine

In this issue: Baglady Boarding Pass | Gadget Review | ITLA 2000 | LL Bean TRAVELER | Summer Sneak Peek

L.L. Bean TRAVELER

An Interview with L.L. Bean TRAVELER's VP/General manager, Steve Fuller

by Lani Teshima

Page 1 of 2 [Click here to go to page 2]

Background

The Products

Click here to go to page 2.

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