While other outdoor brands are contracting, L.L. Bean is expanding.

In the next few months, Orvis will close 36 full-price and outlet stores , REI shuttered its experiences business and said it would exit three high-profile stores in New York City, Boston and Paramus, N.J. next year, and Eastern Mountain Sports filed Chapter 11 last year.

But L.L. Bean is bucking the trend and will open eight stores across the U.S. in 2026, which will include expanding its reach into two new states: Alabama and Tennessee.

At the same time, the company is spending $50 million to transform its flagship in its hometown of Freeport, Maine. That reimagined store is expected to be unveiled in the fall.

This follows the addition of seven stores in 2025, including the first in Florida, all of which are e

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