In what US state did Leon Leonwood Bean open his first retail store?

L.L.Bean, Inc., branded as L.L.Bean, is an American, privately held e-commerce, mail-order, and retail company founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company is currently based in Freeport, Maine, United States. It specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. Its annual sales were USD $1.6 billion in 2015.

Leon Leonwood was an avid fisherman and hunter. His company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe (known currently as the L.L.Bean Boot). Bean had developed a waterproof boot, which is a combination of lightweight leather uppers and rubber bottoms. He obtained a list of nonresident Maine hunting license holders, prepared a descriptive mail order circular, set up a shop in his brother's basement in Freeport, Maine, and started a nationwide mail order business. By 1912, he was selling the "Bean Boot", or Maine Hunting Shoe, through a four-page mail-order catalog, and the boot remains a staple of the company's outdoor image. Defects in the initial design led to 90% of the original production run being returned: Bean made good on his money-back guarantee, corrected the design, and continued selling them.

Leon L. Bean died on February 5, 1967, in Pompano Beach, Florida. He is buried in Freeport's Webster Cemetery. The company passed into the directorship of Bean's grandson, Leon. On May 19, 2013 Shawn Gorman, a great-grandson of the company’s founder, was elected L.L.Bean’s chairman.