Maine

L.L.Bean, known for selling its trademark boots via catalog for more than a century, plans to make a bigger push into brick-and-mortar retail by more than tripling the number of domestic stores over the next five years, officials said Wednesday. The Maine-based company, which is coming off five years of increasing revenue, will open four stores this year before accelerating growth with a goal of at least 100 stores by 2020, CEO Chris McCormick told workers in a memo. The retail push will include Bean's first West Coast presence with the opening of stores in the Pacific Northwest.

The Senate has reintroduced a bipartisan bill aimed at making it easier for states to collect sales taxes on online purchases. The legislation, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, passed the Senate in 2013, but was stalled in the House. Several of the bill's backers co-sponsored the latest iteration: Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.

L.L.Bean has done it again. For the third time this year, the Freeport, Maine-based apparel and outdoor gear retailer has topped the customer service charts. According to StellaService, a customer service benchmarking company, L.L.Bean was rated in the top 25 in all categories, earning the top spot for best overall customer service in July 2014.

Luxury bedding company Cuddledown Inc. has been acquired by American Capital Ltd.'s Potpourri Group, a specialty catalog company. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. American Capital, a publicly traded private equity firm, said the transaction was completed in December. The deal marks the second acquisition of a Maine-based company by the Potpourri Group in recent months. In June, it acquired FetchDog, a dog accessories catalog and internet site co-founded by actress Glenn Close and her husband, David Shaw.

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