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COLONIE
L.L. Bean bringing nature into mall
BY JAMES SCHLETT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter James Schlett at 395-3040 or jschlett@dailygazette.net.

   The great outdoors has come indoors to the Colonie Center.
   Recent days have seen the installation of a 360-gallon aquarium stocked with bass, catfish and bluegill, plus a 400-square-foot lawn in the mall. And the kayaks, sleeping bags and flannel shirts have been piling up.
   All of it comes in preparation for the grand opening of the state’s first L.L. Bean retail shop Friday morning at Colonie Center. The 30,000-square-foot outdoor apparel and equipment store will remain open 24 hours a day during the weekend-long event, which also features gift card and book giveaways plus informational seminars.
   “This is our pilot store. This is our plan going forward,” L.L. Bean manager Gregory Towe said in the Colonie store Wednesday.
   The store — L.L. Bean’s eighth in the country — has been built to comply with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The floor on which Towe stood was made of boards taken from a Tennessee barn. The product fixtures were made of other reclaimed wood, including some from pickle barrels.
   Over the past seven years, L.L. Bean has been broadening its sales reach, which had been limited to catalog sales and its flagship store in Freeport, Maine. In 2000, the retailer established its first brick-and-mortar operation outside of the Pine Tree State with a store in McLean, Va.
   The 95-year-old company has sped up its expansion plan in 2007, with stores opening this year in Colonie, South Windsor, Conn., and Mansfield, Mass.
   “This was due to customers really wanting to try out our products,” said L.L. Bean spokeswoman Laurie Brooks.
   The L.L. Bean will be the latest addition to Colonie Center, whose Long Island owner is putting the mall through a $70 million overhaul. Since acquiring the Wolf Road shopping center in February 2005, Feldman Mall Properties has renovated its interior and opened a Cheesecake Factory restaurant.
   A PF Chang China Bistro is slated to open at the mall Oct. 8, followed by a Barnes & Noble and 14-screen Regal Cinemas in November.
   L.L. Bean’s first 200 customers in Colonie on Friday will each receive a gift card valued up to $500. The first 100 children into the store will receive signed Maine storybooks. Throughout the three-day grand opening, the store will host outdoor learning sessions on topics ranging from falconry to selecting a kayak to fly casting.
   The store opens Friday at 9 a.m. It will employ 125.
   The opening will impact L.L. Bean’s catalog and online shoppers. By entering the state with a brick-and-mortar store, the retailer must collect state and county sales taxes — which total 8 percent in Albany and Schenectady counties. Its former out-of-state status excluded L.L. Bean from that practice.

PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER L.L. Bean employee Andrea Greco of Niskayuna attaches fl y fishing pole reels to a display panel at the new location in Colonie Center on Wednesday

LL Bean today is not the same revered company that it was a generation ago.  No longer do they primarily market products that are "Made in the USA".  Most of their current offerings are produced overseas with many coming from China.  The product quality seems no different from that which you can find at Walmart and Kmart  or at department stores.  It is for that reason that I instructed the company several years ago to discontinue mailing their catalogs to me because I don't intend to pay inflated prices for foreign goods simply for the LL Bean logo that is attached.  The same applies to Lands End, a competitor of LL Bean.

It's a shame that almost nothing is made in the USA anymore.

We don't have too many choices anymore. Did you ever notice those ads in magazines or newspapers advertising American Comemerative coins? They aren't even made in this country.

Well, the way I see it, in this country, our housing market is down, unemployment is high, in part due to large industrial corporations outsoursing or closing their doors completely, our houseing marking is on the decline and our dollar isn't worth much in the global market.  So if everything does come full circle, we will eventually become one of those third world countries, that all of the other 'industrial' nations will have help rebuld.

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L.L. Bean gives
$30K for Pine Bush
   COLONIE — L.L. Bean announced on Wednesday a gift of $30,000 to The Nature Conservancy for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
   The L.L.Bean Outdoor Learning Fund will produce annual income to support a variety of student and family-based outdoor education and recreation programs.
   The Nature Conservancy, . a key member of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, serves as the commission’s fiscal arm and will invest the donation as an endowment that will support hands-on learning and activities.
   Environmental education for the Albany Pine Bush begins at the new Discovery Center, an interactive nature center that exposes children and adults to the unique qualities of the globally rare habitat.
   In addition, L.L.Bean’s Outdoor Discovery Schools will work closely with the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center to introduce people to the outdoors and foster an ethic of conservation through guided hikes, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, fly casting and kayaking adventures that will be available on a seasonal basis at the new L.L.Bean store in Colonie Center.
   The Walk-on Adventures will give people the opportunity to learn about wildlife in the Albany Pine Bush.
   The Discovery Center leads visitors to a preserve of 3,010 protected acres with 18 miles of trails for an outdoor learning experience.
   The Albany Pine Bush represents one of the best remaining examples of an inland pine barrens ecosystem left in the world.

Are their products made in the USA??.....

They used to be but not anymore, China, India, and all over the lower paid countries of the world.

Atleast we will know what the wilderness is and be able to name some trees.....education is good....because when our rug is pulled out from underneath us WE WILL SURVIVE....then all those other countries can get more Americanized,,,we will just have to wait 200 or so years before their time is up....unless the prosperity fairy just jumps from continent to continent or West to East and back again???????

L.L. Bean is nice, but I like Cabella's. I have never been to one of their stores, but I hear they are absolutely great. I don't know abou their products, but I'll bet they aren't made in the great U.S. of A. either. They certainly do present themselves well though.

I've shopped in Cabelas, Gander Mtn, and Bass Pro Shop and they're all nice with great products. Believe it or not a few products are really still made in the USA but not all that many mostly the guns, ammo, and sporting goods but the clothes are made over seas.

Glad to know the 'enemies' dont have all our weapons.....