L.L. Bean-less

There are times when I feel a little isolated living in Nebraska. Friday was one of those times. While thousands of people lined up to await the grand opening of the new L.L. Bean store that also signaled the first retail opening at Legacy Place in Dedham, Mass., I was only able to follow the fun online.

Never mind that it was pouring down rain in Dedham, which is just outside of Boston. Bean fans braved the elements for hours to jockey for upfront positions in the half-mile-long grand-opening line -- as the first 500 inside the store would receive gift cards ranging in value from $25 to $500.

L.L. Bean’s newest store is a two-level, 30,000-sq.-ft. space that is built to silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. Its new home, Legacy Place, is a 675,000-sq.-ft. open-air center developed by WS Development and National Amusements. “The first store opening at Legacy Place is a major milestone for us,” said David Fleming, the corporate marketing director for WS and, I have to say, a good friend of mine. “As evidenced by the turnout, we couldn’t have asked for a better retailer than L.L. Bean to help us open the center.”

I’ll say. I just wish that Nebraska had an L.L. Bean store. The closest one to me is near Chicago, about 500 miles away. And since this Dedham store is the only one the retailer will open in 2009, I’m out of luck for any hopes of a heartland store any time soon.

The next best thing to being there? Check out a video of the opening.

-- Katherine Field

Viva La Sunday

Never mind that racy ads and daily wine-drinking are the norm in France. The majority of the notoriously uninhibited French population says that Sunday shopping would erode the ‘French way of life.’

The Sunday shopping ban, in place in France since 1906, has been the topic of much debate of late. The National Assembly voted on July 14 to relax the ban and allow French cities to create special retail zones for Sunday shopping.

It would mean some big changes for the small country. Employees would have to be paid double-time to work on Sundays -- and they are free to refuse to work if they choose.

If the statistics are right, a bunch of retail employees may continue to keep their Sundays free. One opinion poll found that 55% oppose lifting the ban; 57% said they would refuse to work on Sunday.

A whopping 85% said Sunday should remain a day off.

Remember when our own country operated under a similar code? In my hometown, during the 1960’s and ‘70s, no store was open on Sunday, except perhaps the local grocer or convenience store. And Blue Laws prohibited alcohol sales on Sunday.

Despite heavy opposition, the French shopping ban is expected to win Senate approval next week and be adopted later in July.

Perhaps as we continue to send our associates to the unemployment line, we could direct them overseas. I hear there may be plenty of Sunday jobs available, and the pay is great.

-- Katherine Field

Kohl’s can thank me later

Kohl’s owes me, and the retailer doesn’t even know it yet.

My 84-year-old mother traveled from her home in Louisiana to visit me a couple of weeks ago, and while we were lunching together at one of my favorite cafes, she commented on a particular outfit I was wearing.

I shared with her that it was a Dana Buchman ensemble, which I had recently purchased at Kohl’s.

Dana Buchman? At Kohl’s? Mom’s eyebrows raised, as I knew they would. My mother is one of those well-to-do, fashionable, elderly types who dresses to the nines even for her weekly grocery-shopping excursion. She favors high-end brands and timeless pieces -- in great quantity. (My older sister went through Mom’s closet recently, and counted 14 pairs of almost-identical black slacks. And not a single pair cost less than $150.)

Mom loves Dana Buchman, but she purchases the designer’s items from high-end department stores – not Kohl’s. When I told her that Dana Buchman now had an exclusively-for-Kohl’s line of apparel and fashion accessories -- at supremely discounted prices -- she was visibly interested. And I knew it was only a matter of time before she scouted out her local Shreveport, La. Kohl’s store.

She found it -- and only one day after her return home from her visit with me in Lincoln.

Mom now owns 11 Dana Buchman pieces from Kohl’s. And I can assure you that this is just the beginning. She will now add Kohl’s to her shopping trail, and that means regular visits and sizeable purchases.

I’ve shopped Kohl’s for years -- but until Dana Buchman entered the picture I will admit that I had never bought clothes for myself. The retailer was my go-to for my son’s shorts and my daughter’s tops and underwear, but little else. Since Kohl’s added a label I love, I have now begun exploring other departments -- and recently made a bedding purchase that topped $500.

Kohl’s seems to be figuring out what other retailers are still struggling to understand -- what shoppers want and what motivates us to part with our money even during a recessionary period.

Kohl’s doesn’t really owe me anything, but I’d like to think that I will have played a part -- albeit a small one -- when the next quarter’s sales results reflect an unexpected increase in the southern region.

-- Katherine Field

Shopping Scheels

The fall 2009 football season started early in Lincoln, Neb., this year -- in July, with a preseason game in the aisles of Scheels All Sports.

I went shopping last week for wide-receiver gloves for my son Jake, an incoming high school sophomore and soon-to-be member of the Lincoln East football team. Our first, and only, stop was the local Scheels at SouthPointe Pavilion, an open-air lifestyle center owned by RED Development.

The glove aisle was overwhelming -- a full wall, top to bottom, of hand-gear for every offensive and defensive position. Within seconds of our arrival, however, a Scheels associate headed over to offer his assistance.

I’d say he was in his late teens, maybe early 20’s. He clearly had played football, and knew more than enough about the glove selection and the types/brands Jake needed to try out.

My son is not a fast shopper. He ponders and waffles until I want to scream. (My husband and I used to draw straws for who would take Jake to the toy store to spend his allowance -- the loser accompanied him to Toys “R” Us.) But the associate never batted an eye, staying by Jake’s side through the entire pondering and waffling process. When my son finally narrowed his choices down to two pairs of gloves, the associate trotted to the football aisle, grabbed a high-school game ball and tossed it to my son.

Trading back and forth between the two pairs of receiver gloves, my son caught passes from the associate. The two began expanding the distance between them until the football sailed from one end of the aisle to the other, with me caught in the middle and running for cover.

I have no idea if this is standard operating procedure at Scheels, but no one looked askance at a couple of guys playing football in the store. And the impromptu game allowed my son to test out the gloves and make an informed decision, which made the $45 purchase that much easier for me to swallow.

Yesterday, my husband took Jake back to Scheels for football cleats. The two came home raving about the young woman in the shoe department -- a former college basketball player who knew as much about football shoes as she did about shooting hoops. While Jake didn’t run sprints through the store, he was able to jog around the department in a dozen pairs of shoes until he found exactly the right pair.

Scheels is based in Fargo, N.D., with 23 stores in eight mostly Midwestern and upper-Midwestern states. The retailer’s largest store to-date opened late last year at the Legends at Sparks Marina, another RED Development project that debuted near Reno, Nev. The 295,000-sq.-ft. store features some pretty wild attractions -- an electric trolley traverses the parking lot, and a Ferris Wheel and a 35-ft. Wildlife Mountain offer in-store entertainment. But most significant? The store advertises that “each shop is staffed with experts who are focused on their passions.” I believe it, and I’ll return to our local store to leverage that expertise toward making the right gear and apparel purchases for my family.

I know a few companies, such as Home Depot, that could take a page out of Scheels’ book. The privately held sporting goods retailer has set an example of how to maintain its core service values even during an economic downturn.

-- Katherine Field