Catalog retailer L.L. Bean plans to triple stores over next 5 years amid increasing sales

Catalog retailer L.L. Bean is ready to make a bigger push into traditional brick and mortar stores.

The company, which on Wednesday announced that annual sales grew 3 percent to $1.6 billion, intends to more than triple the number of retail stores over the next five years. President and CEO Chris McCormick says the retailer wants to have "at least 100" by 2020.

It's an ambitious push for a company that currently has 26 full-price retail stores, along with a handful of outlet stores.

The company says its performance last year was good enough to warrant a 5 percent bonus for Bean's 5,300 year-round employees. The company says that amounts to about $1,500 to $2,000 for the typical full-time hourly worker.