Paul Bass Photo
After five years of trying to peddle preppy New England outerwear on Broadway, New Haven’s L.L.Bean is closing its doors next month.
The store, which is a part of the Shops at Yale and located at 272 Elm St., opened the 9,000-square-foot two-story storefront in August 2018, featuring hiking shirts and pants, climbing gear, chairs, headlamps, watches, sleeping bags, and hiking boots.
The company confirmed that the last day of business there will be Feb. 11. New Haveners will need to travel to Danbury and South Windsor to shop from L.L.Bean retail stores in person.
The Maine-based retailer, which has a devoted following, tends to open bigger stores, outside of cities.
“This decision comes as we evolve the size and concept of our stores to best serve customers going forward,” responded Jason Sulham, L.L.Bean’s manager of public affairs, when asked why the store is closing. Sulham explained that bigger stores — ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 square feet — are better suited for the “retail experience we want to provide to our customers.
“We are therefore aligning our fleet of stores to that sizing.”
As of right now, the company said it does not plan to have a clearance sale before the store’s closing.