The L Bean Duck Boots Dilemma Summary

The L.L. Bean Duck Boots Dilemma – Unwavering Demand and Labor as a Fixed Resource

L.L. Bean’s Duck Boots are in high demand for a second winter in a row. Though not fashionable in looks, the boot has taken on a retro and iconic status, causing demand to skyrocket to the extent that orders become backlogged. L.L. Bean has since made changes to their production, adjusting labor and plant, the two primary resources affected by the increased demand, to keep up with increasing this season. While labor is considered a variable resource, one that is easily changeable in both the short run and long run, in this situation it shares more similarities with the fixed plant resources of the short run. And despite L.L. Bean’s inability to quickly adapt to increasing consumer demand, their production methods have not negatively affected consumer desire. It is necessary to know what the short run and long run periods are in order to further emphasize the similarities L.L. Bean’s labor shares with fixed plant resources.

The short run and long run periods determine the impact of time on elasticity, where the price elasticity of supply is determined by the ease and quickness of producers to shift resources between alternative uses

But even in a short run situation, L.L. Bean cannot acquire labor very easily, since it takes close to half a year before each boot maker becomes qualified for the job, “L.L. Bean said it takes about six months to train each employee. (Luna).” Proper training is critical to the Duck Boot production, and for L.L. Bean, labor is not a simple matter of going out and hiring new employees. Meanwhile, the backlogged list continues to grow, with customers anxiously awaiting their purchase. Certainly, some customers might jump ship, making do with similarly styled boots from other companies, but for the majority, they crave the precision and quality that is a part of L.L. Bean’s production