L.L. Bean To Open 5 Stores In Japan

FREEPORT, Maine - L.L. Bean has reached an agreement with two Japanese companies allowing the catalog and sporting-goods retailer to sell its products at stores in Japan, officials said yesterday.

L.L. Bean plans to open five stores over five years while continuing sales through its mail-order catalog, said Leon Gorman, president of well-known outdoor outfitter.

The agreement, signed in Tokyo, has been in the works since Seiyu Ltd. and Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd. approached L.L. Bean a year and a half ago.

Under the deal Matsushita, a consumer electronics giant, will import Bean's products and Seiyu, a Japanese supermarket chain, would operate the retail store. The first retail store is planned for the Tokyo area and will open within a year.

The opening of the Japan store marks the first time L.L. Bean products are available at a retail outlet other than its 90,000-square-foot store in Freeport and three factory outlets.

"Our Japanese customers have become familiar with L.L. Bean products over the last several years and our popularity has grown. Opening a store in Japan will give these customers more exposure to our products," Gorman said in a statement.

The company's 80-year-old outdoor catalog is available to customers in Japan in their own language. Bean's sportswear, hunting, fishing and camping gear have been popular in Japan for about 10 years.