(This story was updated on 8/29/2023.)
Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean announced it is opening four new brick-and-mortar stores as well as adding wholesale partnerships.
The Freeport, Maine-based company is adding Dillard’s and outdoor retailer Moosejaw to its U.S. wholesale accounts, as well as 10 independent specialty retailers in the southeastern U.S.
“These wholesale partnerships will enable L.L.Bean to offer a curated assortment of goods through established, trusted retailers, providing customers in more locations across the U.S. the opportunity to interact directly with the brand’s iconic products, which have traditionally been most accessible online and through the L.L.Bean catalog,” the company said in a release.
This comes on the heels of L.L. Bean’s second-strongest revenue performance in company history last year, with net revenue of $1.8 billion. That was a 14% increase from the prior year.
This fall, L.L. Bean is opening two new retail stores in the U.S. and two in Canada. The locations and timing are:
- Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec – opening Aug. 25
- Hanover, Massachusetts – opening Sept. 8
- Boisbriand, Quebec – opening Sept. 29
- Peabody, Massachusetts – opening Oct. 6
These are the company’s first stores in Quebec, Canada. L.L. Bean will also launch a French-language e-commerce site in conjunction with the store openings.
“We’re grateful to be in a position to expand our retail presence and build new wholesale relationships in order to serve more customers,” said Stephen Smith, president and chief executive officer of L.L.Bean. “Everything we do is in support of our company purpose to enable people to experience the restorative power of being outside, and these new ventures will ensure we’re able to fulfill that purpose for years to come.”
L.L.Bean’s products are available via e-commerce in more than 150 countries and in more than 90 retail stores internationally. The company operates 56 stores in the U.S and 25 stores in Japan, and has 13 licensed retail store locations in Canada operated by Ontario-based Jaytex Group.
