HUDSON — L. L. Bean, the iconic Maine-based apparel and recreational device maker, will open a new store on Highland Commons near Coolidge Street (Route 62) later this year, the network’s director of plans and development, Kristina Johnson, confirmed.
L. L. Bean, who has been in business since 1912, placed a sign outside the mall announcing his imminent arrival, but there are still few important points left.
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“We don’t know much else about it; the Planning Board approved the plan and after that, he doesn’t want to record anything else with the city,” Johnson said.
Jason Sulham, a spokesman for L. L. Bean, showed that a store would open in Hudson, but that other details, such as how many other people will be hired, were still being determined.
“I can verify that we are going to open a store on Highland Commons; however, the other main points are still being decided and we will announce them at a later date,” Sulham said.
L. L. Bean operates 56 retail stores in the United States, according to a statement of its company’s finances for 2021 that was released on March 18. Hudson’s store will be the company’s ninth in Massachusetts, and the first since it opened in Millbury last fall.
Earlier this year, privately held L. L. Bean reported net sales of $1. 8 billion in 2021, up 14 percent from last year and what executives called “one of the most successful years in the company’s history. “
In popularity of favorable finances, the company’s board approved a functionality bonus of 20% of the annual salary for its approximately 5,500 employees, consisting of a cash bonus of 12% and a 401(k) contribution of 8%.
The company started with a single product, a weatherproof boot, and has grown to offer a variety of clothing and equipment.
With the addition of L. L. Bean, Highland Commons will become an outdoor retail hub that is not unusual in the area.
The mall is also the site of the first Cabela’s, a Nebraska store that specializes in hunting, fishing and other recreational products, which opened in Massachusetts in 2015.