BURLINGTON, Vt. — Maine-based outdoor retailer L.L. Bean is opening its first store in Vermont this fall.

The 18,000-square-foot store will be in the Burlington Town Center.

It’s scheduled to open in late October and employ about 100 people.

L.L. Bean says it decided to expand into Burlington because of the large number of catalog and web customers in the area, and the proximity to natural resources and opportunities for outdoor activities.

It’s the company’s 20th store outside of Maine.