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Canadian apparel chain Roots has opened its first Massachusetts store, including a “Sweat Bar” and customization center where customers can design and order handcrafted leather bags.
The 3,250-square-foot store at 344 Newbury St. in Boston is divided into five distinctly decorated sections showcasing the retailer’s selections of fleece, footwear, leather goods and accessories. Customers can place personalized orders for bags with badges and patches developed specifically for Roots’ Bay State stores.
The Boston store is the first stage of the company’s Massachusetts brick-and-mortar rollout, which includes scheduled store openings June 28 at the Natick Mall and June 30 at MarketStreet Lynnfield.
Roots this week announced first-quarter sales of $51 million, up 5.8 percent from the same period in 2017, with comparable sales growth of 6.4 percent.
Founded in 1973, Roots operates 117 company-owned stores in Canada and three others in the U.S., along with 112 partner-operates stores in Taiwan and 30 in China. It’s planning to open up to 14 new U.S. stores by the end of 2019.
