AUGUSTA— The Maine House has rejected a bill that would prohibit retailers from using disposable plastic bags. The Democratic-controlled House voted 84-62 against the bill on Tuesday. Under the measure, retailers would no longer be able to use single-use plastic bags, starting September 2020. Plastic bags would still be allowed for some items, like prescription […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
L.L. Bean to focus on smaller stores in expansion
FREEPORT, Maine (AP) — L.L. Bean is preparing for the largest number of store openings in the company’s history, but they won’t be megastores along the lines of Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s. The Maine-based outdoors outfitter will be aiming for smaller stores, along the lines of 15,000 square feet apiece, instead of larger stores […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
L.L. Bean announces retail expansion plans
FREEPORT — L.L. Bean, known for selling its trademark boots via catalog for more than a century, plans to make a bigger push into brick-and-mortar retail by more than tripling the number of locations over the next five years, officials said Wednesday. The Maine-based company, which is coming off five years of increasing revenue, will […]
Posted inBusiness
L.L. Bean hiring 100 workers to make more boots
A backlog of 60,000 boot orders could grow to 100,000 by month’s end, and the company is in the process of hiring 100 workers and purchasing additional equipment to catch up with demand. “We just can’t make enough of them,” said Tom Armstrong, L.L. Bean’s chief merchandising officer. The rubber-bottomed, leather-topped “duck boot” has seen […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine retailers face a variety of forces against sales growth
Learn About Tableau PORTLAND — As more Mainers shop online, the impact on the state’s retail sector is hard to track. But not if you’re Katie Clark. Like a 21st-century Santa making her list and checking it twice, Clark keeps an elaborate spreadsheet to track her online gift-giving. “People have seen the spreadsheet, and it’s […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Black Friday sales expected to grow on consumer confidence
It will be more than a big shopping day: You could call this year’s Black Friday a “takeover.” Experts predict a larger percentage of people will be shopping on Black Friday, 66 to 68 percent, compared to 55 percent last year. More retailers are opening earlier, but because of Maine’s Blue Law, big stores can’t […]
Posted inBusiness, Lewiston-Auburn
Lewiston hardware store closes
LEWISTON — Brown paper covered the front windows of Aubuchon Hardware on Main Street on Monday — a sign simply stating “store closed.” “Last Monday was when the decision was made,” District Manager Ryan Lamb of Durham said, although on the corporate level “the decision might have been made last year for all I know.” […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
L.L. Bean to open store in Minnesota’s Mall of America
PORTLAND — L.L. Bean will open its first U.S. outlet west of the Mississippi River — in Minnesota’s Mall of America — later this year. The Star Tribune reported that the Freeport-based retailer will announce the opening of a 29,000-square-foot outlet store Tuesday. The store is scheduled to open in the country’s second-largest mall on […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine fireworks sales show signs of fizzling
WINDHAM — Fireworks sales are down in Maine as retailers say exploding gadgets have lost some of their sparkle with the buying public since becoming legal in the state in 2012. Sales tax from fireworks generated $278,083 from June 2013 to May of this year – a loss of more than $100,000 from the prior 12-month […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
L.L. Bean to open first Vermont store in Burlington
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Maine-based outdoor retailer L.L. Bean is opening its first store in Vermont this fall. The 18,000-square-foot store will be in the Burlington Town Center. It’s scheduled to open in late October and employ about 100 people. L.L. Bean says it decided to expand into Burlington because of the large number of catalog […]