President-elect Donald Trump urged people to buy products from L.L. Bean after the founder's granddaughter sparked controversy by donating to a political action committee that supported his campaign.
Linda Bean, who serves on L.L. Bean's board and owns a stake in the 105-year-old company, had contributed $US60,000 to the Making America Great Again LLC, according to the Federal Election Commission. That led the anti-Trump group Grab Your Wallet to call for a boycott of L.L. Bean, a outdoor clothing and equipment company perhaps best known for making wet-weather boots.
![LL Bean boots in its factory in Brunswick, Maine.](/web/20170115002642im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/k/m/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtqkn0.png/1484308366222.jpg)
"Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L. Bean for your great support and courage," Mr Trump said on Twitter Thursday. "People will support you even more now. Buy L.L. Bean."
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. @LBPerfectMaine
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
L.L. Bean has tried to distance itself from the controversy, with Executive Chairman Shawn Gorman saying this week on Facebook that he was "deeply troubled" about the company being depicted as choosing sides in politics. The Freeport, Maine-based catalogue seller has more than 50 family members with a stake in the business.
"L.L.Bean does not endorse political candidates, take positions on political matters or make political contributions," Mr Gorman said.
'Hardcore Bullies'
Before Mr Trump's tweet on Thursday, Linda Bean appeared on Fox News and complained about the boycott threat.
"They're bullies, that's all they are," she said, referring to Grab Your Wallet as a "small kernel of hardcore bullies out on the West Coast in California trying to control what we do, what we buy, what we sell in Maine."
Ms Bean also responded to calls for her to resign from L.L. Bean's board, saying she would "absolutely not" step down. The donation was a personal choice unrelated to the company, she said.
L.L. Bean, founded by Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912, didn't respond to requests seeking comment on Thursday.
Grab Your Wallet, according to its website, is a boycott movement that began in October in the wake of the release of a secret recording in which the then-candidate Donald Trump bragged he could grab women by the genitals. It targets retailers stocking Trump products and other companies associated with the president-elect.
Bloomberg