Reatail watch
Last year was a wild ride for many retailers, but so far in 2010 signs are looking up, as both local and national chains eye new locations and one iconic Maine brand bounces back from a dismal 2009. Here’s the latest in retail-related news:
California-based natural food store chain Trader Joe’s is eyeing the former Wild Oats store in Portland for its 25th New England location. The company has filed documents with the Federal Trade Commission to buy the Marginal Way property, according to the Portland Press Herald. The property was home to a Wild Oats Market Inc. store until 2007, when Whole Foods Market Inc. bought the rival chain for $565 million and was forced by the FTC to close the store to avoid a natural-food monopoly. The FTC must approve the Trader Joe’s deal.
A vacant building in downtown Brunswick will be the site of a sixth Cool as a Moose store. Kip Stone, owner of the Maine-themed chain and a Westbrook-based clothing screen-printing company called Artforms Inc., recently bought the 31,000-square-foot former Grand City building on Maine Street for an undisclosed price, according to a press release. Stone will use part of the building as office space for his businesses, and is actively seeking tenants for two other retail or restaurant spaces in the building.
Freeport-based L.L.Bean recently reported its net revenues dropped from $1.5 billion in 2008 to $1.4 billion in 2009, a 6.6% decrease, according to a company memo and the Portland Press Herald. In the memo, company President Chris McCormick said the drop was the result of a slow spring and a disappointing holiday season. Despite the year-end slump, the company was able to beat budgeted profitability levels and announced a 3% cash bonus for about 5,000 employees, according to the memo. The silver lining? Sales for 2010 are looking up. L.L.Bean had its “best January and February in years,” McCormick said.
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