L.L. Bean Ends Lifetime Returns Policy

FREEPORT, ME — The outdoors outfitter L.L. Bean is ending a lifetime return policy that allowed customers to return products any time after purchase, the company said. The company is now imposing a one-year limit on returns, accompanied with a proof of purchase.

"Since 1912, our mission has been to sell high-quality products that inspire and enable people to enjoy the outdoors," the company said in a letter to customers. "Our commitment to customer service has earned us your trust and respect, as has our guarantee, which ensures that we stand behind everything we sell."

In the letter, L.L. Bean said a small but growing number of customers had been interpreting their guarantee beyond its original intent, saying some viewed it as a "lifetime product replacement program." The company said some customers expected refunds on heavily worn products or those bought at yard sales.

"The numbers are staggering," CEO Steve Smith told The Associated Press. "It's not sustainable from a business perspective. It's not reasonable. And it's not fair to our customers."

Customers now have a year to return their products and after a year, L.L. Bean said it would work with customers to reach a fair solution if the product is defective in any way.

The company is also imposing a $50 minimum for free shipping as part of a belt-tightening that includes a workforce reduction through early retirement incentives and changes in workers' pension plans.

Leon Leonwood Bean, the company's founder, is credited with launching the policy when 90 of his first 100 hunting shoes were returned. He earned goodwill by returning customers' money, and he came back with a better boot. Thus, the satisfaction guarantee was born.

The company has lost $250 million over the past five years on returned items that are classified by the company as "destroy quality," company spokeswoman Carolyn Beem told The Associated Press.

Read the full letter L.L. Bean sent to customers Friday:

Reporting from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Photo: In this Wednesday, March 16, 2016 photo shoppers walk outside the L.L. Bean retail store in Freeport, Maine. The outdoors specialty retailer experienced flat sales growth for the past year, a period in which many major retailers dealt with a slowdown in sales, officials said Friday. Photo by Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press