L.L. Bean opening first Canadian store near Toronto
Retail and sales analyst Erin Sykes and Strategic Resource Group Managing Director Burt Flickinger on the state of the retail sector.
L.L. Bean is preparing to open its first Canadian store. The Maine-based outdoor gear retailer announced that it will hold a grand opening at its new store at the Oakville Place mall near Toronto on Aug. 23.
Last year, L.L. Bean said it would partner with Canadian distributor Jaytex Group to start a wholesale operation in Canada and later open a retail store. The company said it planned to include an assortment of its products curated for the Canadian market at the new store.
“We’ve historically had an active and loyal customer base in Canada,” Steve Smith, L.L. Bean’s president and CEO, said at the time.
L.L Bean operates 44 stores in the U.S., including a massive 220,000-square-foot, 24-7 flagship campus in Freeport, Maine. It opened its first international store in Tokyo in 1992 and now has 28 locations in Japan.
According to the Associated Press, the company sees international sales as an important part of its growth. Last year, the company told the Bangor Daily News that Japanese fashion trends were boosting its sales.
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The company plans to celebrate its first-ever Canadian store grand opening with a weekend-long event that will include its famous “Bootmobile” and freebies for early arrivals.