L.L. Bean to add new stores, revert to 24-hour operation in Freeport - Press Herald

sekirta.blogspot.com

L.L. Bean plans to resume 24-hour service at its flagship store in Freeport next week and will open seven new stores in the United States and Canada this year.

The company said it plans to build on a strong financial year in 2020, when revenues grew by 5 percent to $1.59 billion.

The resumption of 24-hour service at the flagship store and the Hunt & Fish store will begin Monday. Bean will expand hours at its Home and Bike and Boat & Ski stores, also on the Freeport retail campus, to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Bean closed all the stores a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic and reopened last May with 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours.

Bean officials said they plan to remove the locks that were installed on the doors to the flagship store on Monday morning. A company spokeswoman said officials had to send workers to a local hardware store last year to get locks for the doors.

Bean had been open 24 hours daily for nearly seven decades. The founder, L.L. Bean, who lived above the store, had the locks removed in 1951 because he was tired of being roused in the early morning by customers who wanted to buy supplies for their hunting and fishing trips.

After that, the store closed only four times: for the death of John F. Kennedy; for Bean’s death; for the death of his successor, Leon Gorman; and once because of a fire.

In addition to a return to round-the-clock service in Freeport, Bean said it plans to launch three new U.S. stores and four in Canada this year. A store in Salem, New Hampshire, will open next month and the other two stores – in Millbury, Massachusetts, and Amherst, New York – are expected to open this fall.

The company also plans to add four stores this fall in Canada, doubling its presence in that country and building on its partnership with Jaytex Group, a Canadian outdoor brand. The new stores will be in Victoria and Burnaby, British Columbia; Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Invalid username/password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

« Previous

Labor secretary says gig workers should be classified as employees in ‘a lot of cases’

As ransomware hits more U.S. agencies and companies, the crooks stay out of reach

filed under: