Business & Tech

L.L. Bean: 'Uptick' in Business Amid Trump Backing After Boycott

L.L. Bean is target of a boycott by the "Grab Your Wallet" campaign over Linda Bean's support for Donald Trump.

FREEPORT, ME β€” A boycott of L.L. Bean due to a board member's support for Donald Trump may have backfired. The anti-Trump "Grab Your Wallet" campaign added the company to its boycott of companies viewed as supposedly sympathetic to Trump. Linda Bean, granddaughter of L.L. Bean, started a pro-Trump political action committee called "Making America Great Again" and reportedly donated $60,000 for the effort. That led the "Grab Your Wallet" group to add L.L. Bean to its boycott list.

On Thursday, Trump tweeted a message of support for the company: "Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L. Bean for your great support and courage. People will support you even more now. Buy L.L. Bean."

In an interview on the Fox Business Network Thursday, Linda Bean said her company was being bullied and said there's been an "uptick" in business since the boycott controversy started.

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β€œI gave the donation personally to a PAC to support Trump," Bean said. "My cousin gave to Obama four years ago. And he gave many more times the amount I did. But the point is we should have that privilege. We live in America."

Bean's son, Nathan Clark, is the vice chairman of the L.L. Bean board.

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"He says there's been a slight uptick in business actually," Bean said. "We appreciate that."

Shawn Gorman, the head of L.L.Bean's board, called the company's inclusion in the boycott "misguided." He emphasized the company itself does not make political contributions.

"We stay out of politics," Gorman said in a statement.

On Linda Bean's support for Trump, Gorman said, "Our owners, employees, and customers hold views and embrace causes that are individual and diverse."

Bean is the subject of a probe by the Federal Election Commission for the $60,000 donation to her Trump PAC because it exceeded the $5,000 limit for individual contributions, according to the Associated Press.

"This pretty clearly meets my existing bar for adding a company to the ... boycott list," said Shannon Coulter, a founder of Grab Your Wallet, in a statement. She said she started the boycott effort in October after audio recordings were leaked of Trump making vulgar comments about women.

Companies like Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Macy's, Marshalls and Nordstrom are also on the boycott list. Grab Your Wallet endorses companies like REI, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, and Kohl's.

L.L. Bean, based in Freeport, was founded in 1912.

In November, Hillary Clinton won Maine, capturing three of its four electoral votes.

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Photo: L.L. Bean's signature hunting boot. (Credit: jimshooz7/Flickr)


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