L.L.Bean will add seven stores, return to 24/7 at Freeport flagship
File Photo / Courtesy L.L.Bean
L.L.Bean Inc., the Freeport-based outdoor gear and clothing retailer, will return to 24/7 operations at its flagship store starting Monday, May 3.
On the heels of its strongest fiscal year in nearly a decade, outdoor apparel manufacturer and retailer L.L.Bean Inc. plans to open seven new stores this year in North America and return to 24/7 operations at its Freeport flagship.
“While 2020 posed many challenges to our business, including the temporary closure of all retail stores, we are committed to increasing our brick-and-mortar presence in order to serve more communities,” Stephen Smith, president and CEO of L.L.Bean, said in a news release Thursday.
“We know that a record number of people reconnected with the outdoors amidst the pandemic, some for the first time, and we see these new habits remaining firmly in place going forward," he added.
The moves come a month after the company reported 2020 revenue of $1.59 billion, a 5% increase over the previous year, with outdoor furniture sales nearly doubling and sales of outdoor games up 65%.
L.L.Bean also last year embarked on its first-ever U.S. wholesale partnerships and expand its online reach as part of an omnichannel growth strategy.
This year, L.L.Bean plans to open three new stores in the United States and four in Canada.
The first of the new U.S. stores is set to open on May 14 in Salem, N.H., the retailer's sixth in the Granite State. The branch will be located within the Tuscan Village so-called lifestyle center featuring trails, green space and a pond.
New stores are also planned for Millbury, Mass., set to open this fall in The Shops at Blackstone Valley, the largest open-air shopping center in Central Massachusetts; and in Amherst, N.Y., in The Boulevard, an open-air center that's home to 50 shops and restaurants.
The Massachusetts store will be L.L.Bean's eighth in that state, while the other will be the seventh in New York.
Northern exposure
In Canada, L.L.Bean plans to build on its presence that began in 2018 with the launch of an e-commerce site, followed a year later by the opening of its first retail store there in Oakville, Ontario.
The company joined forces with Canada's Jaytex Group in 2020 to open stores in Barrie, Ottawa, and Toronto, contributing to a doubling of its customer base in Canada last year.
In an effort to continue the momentum, L.L.Bean plans to open four new stores across three provinces by the end of 2021.
The new brick-and-mortar locations are slated to open this fall in Victoria and Burnaby, British Columbia, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Calgary, Alberta.
“Despite the hurdles that the pandemic presented, in 2020 we successfully opened three new L.L.Bean retail locations in Ontario and saw strong overall performance in the Canadian market,” said Howie Kastner, president of Jaytex Group, in a statement.
"This continued success speaks to the inherent love of the outdoors and eagerness for new adventures that Canadian customers share with the brand. We look forward to continuing to explore opportunities across Canada and support this growing customer base.”
Shop-around-the-clock
Back in Freeport, L.L.Bean's flagship store as well as its Hunt & Fish store will return to a 24-hour schedule on Monday, May 3. The stores temporarily closed at the start of the pandemic, along with all of its U.S. retail stores, and reopened with limited hours in May 2020.
The two other stores on L.L.Bean’s campus — Home and Bike, and Boat & Ski — will extend hours beginning May 3, operating from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Shawn Gorman, L.L. Bean's executive chairman, said of the store announcements: “My great-grandfather opened our Flagship Store more than 100 years ago and, in 1951, he implemented our signature 24-hour operating model as a way to accommodate sportsmen and women who would drive through Freeport in the middle of the night to ensure an early start the next morning.
"Returning to 24-hour service, extending hours and opening new stores all mark milestones for our organization and communities as we look toward a post-pandemic era and see a continued interest in the outdoors.”
L.L.Bean operates a total of 54 stores in 19 U.S. states, along with 25 stores in Japan. The 220,000-square-foot retail store campus in Freeport attracts more than 3 million visitors every year, according to the company.
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