Are the Shelves Bare at L.L. Bean?
I hope it’s a sign that L.L. Bean blew the doors off its sales projections, but the outdoor gear and apparel cataloger seems to have very little in stock going into the final days of holiday 2010. That’s okay if you’re a merchant, not so great when you’re a consumer prone to procrastination.
Yes, I waited until about 10 p.m. on Dec. 19 to start my online Christmas shopping (don’t judge), so maybe I deserve what I get. But MCM’s art director was trying to buy some boots at Bean on Dec. 5 and the merchant was out of stock on three styles in two sizes. Just for kicks, she checked all the sizes and they were backordered.
What’s more, the earliest you could get the boots was late January; some styles were backordered until late February. It sounded like a boot manufacturer problem, but our art director also tried to buy a women’s shirt that was unavailable, except in a few plus sizes.
I was trying to buy apparel (specifically fleece or flannel-lined jeans or khakis) as well, but Bean had nothing left in the sizes I needed. I could sort of see that
