L.L. Bean opens at Hilldale and looks beyond brick-and-mortar sales (2024)

The evolution of Hilldale Shopping Center continues, with an L.L. Bean store opening Friday in more than 15,000 square feet of retail space.

Located between the Apple Store and an AMC movie theater, and with a second entrance on the west side of the shopping center, the new L.L. Bean offers products including clothing, backpacks, paddle boards, kayaks and of course, the Bean Boot.

The store is the 37th location outside the state of Maine for the outdoor retailer and the company’s second store in Wisconsin. L.L. Bean opened a store last year at The Corners of Brookfield, a shopping center at the intersection of Bluemound Road and Interstate 94 east of Waukesha.

But at a time when legacy brick-and-mortar retailers such as Boston Store and Toys “R” Us are closing and others are tenuous, L.L. Bean is forging ahead with retail expansion. This year, it plans to open three more stores in addition to the Madison store.

The company, founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean and based in Freeport, Maine, is trying to offer a full product line to customers who choose to visit the store. If they don’t find it on a shelf or rack, the store is pushing its larger range of products online and offers free shipping for any orders placed in the store.

“The products ... continue to change and evolve. We really teach our customers that don’t be disappointed if you walk in here and you don’t see it,” said Donna Fruehe, an L.L. Bean retail district manager based in Chicago. “We try to have enough selection to meet ... the customer’s immediate needs but also let them know that it’s not about our four walls. There’s so much more we can get for you. It’s really a whole omnichannel experience.”

L.L. Bean’s flagship store in Maine is 220,000 square feet and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Madison store, with 35 employees, is only a fraction of that size but is situated on a courtyard that will allow for special events and other gatherings. The store also offers hikes and classes relating to the outdoors.

It’s also located in a competitive market with other like-minded retailers such as Madison-based Fontana, REI, Dodgeville-based Lands’ End and Duluth Trading Co., which is building its world headquarters in downtown Mount Horeb.

The manager of the Madison L.L. Bean is Leslie Camfield, whose retail experience has included jobs at Lands’ End on Junction Road, DSW in Greenway Station in Middleton and with Eddie Bauer in Seattle.

“Madison is just a perfect fit for L.L. Bean,” Camfield said. “Madisonians love the outdoors and love quality products, and we have the excitement of the university nearby, and we’ve got several lakes, so it seems to be a good mix.”

The L.L. Bean is in the former location of University Book Store, which moved to the other side of the Apple Store last year as part of a redevelopment of the shopping center’s south end. The lone remaining empty space is slated for a Bartaco Mexican restaurant, but an opening date has not yet been announced.