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41 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 29,2019 insidehalton.com Start planning your dream vacation with hand-picked travel deals and inspiration just for Canadians Visit General $9.00 | Children & Seniors $7.00 | All seats Tues $6.00 Film.CA CinemAS ShowTimeS For AuGuST 30-SepTember 5 2019 newThiSweek: GoodboyS, Spider-mAn: FAr Fromhome exTended CuT 171 Speers Road, Oakville (at Kerr St.) 905-338-6397 (MEWS)www.film.ca Spider-Man: Far FroMHoMe - extended Cut (pG) Fri -Wed: 12:45, 6:30, 9:00Fri -Wed: 12:45, 6:30, 9:00F Thu: 12:45 PM anGelHaS Fallen (14a) Fri - Thu: 1:15, 3:45, 6:45, 9:20Fri - Thu: 1:15, 3:45, 6:45, 9:20F readyornot (14a) Fri - Sun: 2:15, 4:30, 7:30, 9:40Fri - Sun: 2:15, 4:30, 7:30, 9:40F Mon: 2:15, 7:30, 9:40 Tue - Thu: 2:15, 4:30, 7:30, 9:40 BlindedBytHe liGHt (pG) Fri - Sun: 9:15 PMFri - Sun: 9:15 PMF Mon: 8:15 PM Tue - Thu: 9:15 PM GoodBoyS (14a) Fri - Thu: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:30Fri - Thu: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:30F tHeanGryBirdSMovie2 (G) Fri - Sun: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:15Fri - Sun: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:15F Mon: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45 Tue - Thu: 1:20, 4:00, 7:15 doraandtHe loStCityoFGold (G) Fri -Mon: 12:00, 3:30Fri -Mon: 12:00, 3:30F Tue&Wed: 3:30 PM it CHapter two (StC)it CHapter two (StC)it CH Thu: 5:00, 8:30 toonieMovieStoonieMovieSt pokéMondeteCtive pikaCHu (pG) Fri: 10:30AMFri: 10:30AMF wonderpark (G)wonderpark (G)w Fri: 10:40AMFri: 10:40AMF It's a family-owned business based in the heart of maple syrup country. It sells clothes, boots and gear for the great outdoors, and its catalogue wouldn't look out of place on a ta- ble at the cottage. L.L. Bean might not be Canadian, but it might as well be. And soon it will be, kind of. On Friday the iconic Freeport, a Maine- based purveyor of outdoorsy clothes, will open its first-ever Canadian store in the Oak- ville Place mall. That store will soon be followed by L.L. Bean kiosks in more than 50 Hudsons Bay Co. (HBC) stores across the country, plus a selec- tion of the company's products will begin re- tailing at Sporting Life. Over the next 10 years, the company may open as many as 20 additional Canadian locations. The new 14,000-square-foot flagship store will feature everything from the company's original Bean Boots ($149-$189) to plaid hoo- dies ($129), "wicked good slippers" ($129-$149) and down jackets designed for mountain climbing ($99-$275). There are hats, back- packs and bathrobes, too. The decision to launch in Oakville, rather than Toronto or Vancouver, was a deliberate one, said company president Steve Smith. He said the area of the Golden Horseshoe stretching from Oakville to Burlington just happens to be where L.L. Bean's biggest Ca- nadian fans are. And there are years of cata- logue sales and online sales data to prove it. "We are a direct business, so we're able to see where our customers are shopping from ... There are a lot of families in the area shop- ping with us, so that was a natural location for us," Smith said.for us," Smith said.f That a smaller, suburban location - one with a relatively high household income - would be prime L.L. Bean territory comes as no surprise to retail consultant Lisa Hutche- son. "When I think of that brand, I think of peo- ple going to their cottages, or going skiing in the winter, and being outdoors. I think Oak- ville suits that perfectly. I don't necessarily think of the urban consumer," said Hutche- son, managing partner at J.C. Williams Group. The store won't sell everything in the cata- logue. Instead it will feature an assortment of L.L. Bean's greatest hits, said Howie Kastner, president of Jaytex Group - a North York- based wholesale and retail company - which L.L. Bean is partnering with for its Canadian operations. Jaytex has also helped bring oth- er major brands to Canada, including Tom- my Bahama and Ben Sherman. "It won't be 100 per cent. We're focusing on apparel and accessories," Kastner said. "We really wanted the best of the best." Kastner, who described the partnership as a licensing agreement, has grander vi- sions than a solitary store, but isn't about to rush into things. Unlike, say, American dis- count retailer Target, whose short-lived for- ay into Canada was one of the greatest retailay into Canada was one of the greatest retaila disasters this country has seen in recent memory. "We're not opening 350 stores all at once. We're opening one at a time. If we can open 20We're opening one at a time. If we can open 20W stores over the next 10 years, that would be good," said Kastner, adding that Jaytex is gradually scouting a handful of locations in other areas. Rather than cannibalizing the company's online and catalogue business, the bricks and mortar store will boost overall sales, predict- ed Smith. At least that's been the pattern seen by the L.L. Bean elsewhere. "We've had a lot of experience with this in other markets. Typically, when we open a store, we see our direct business and our store business grow. There's more brand awareness, more brand exposure, people see-awareness, more brand exposure, people see-a ing the name, in and out of the store ... In ev- ery market we enter, all the channels in- crease," said Smith, adding that the compa- ny's historical roots with catalogue sales gave it a leg up when it came to the online world. Getting the product mix right is some- thing L.L. Bean is counting on Jaytex for, Smith said. "When we looked at entering Canada, we wanted to make sure that we had a partner who could truly help us understand the Ca- nadian market ... and Jaytex provided that to us," Smith said. For now, Smith's focus - and that of JaytexFor now, Smith's focus - and that of JaytexF - is squarely on the new store, as well as the Bay kiosks. "It's a wait and see. We want to get this store open. We want to get our relationship with Hudson's Bay off the ground, and then just want to learn from that and see where the opportunities are, but there isn't any ag- gressive plan laid out at this point," Smith said. BUSINESS L.L BEAN FLAGSHIP STORE OPENS IN OAKVILLE JOSH RUBIN josh@thestar.ca L.L. Bean President and CEO Stephen Smith surrounded by outer wear at the grand opening of L.L. Bean's first ever Canadian store at Oakville Place. Graham Paine/Torstar ADDRESS: 240 Leighland Ave. WEBSITE: www.llbean.ca HOURS: Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. PHONE NUMBER: 289-837-1152