REI
| File:REI Logo 2015.svg Logo since 2015 | |
| Company type | Consumer cooperative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail, outdoor recreation |
| Founded | Expression error: Unrecognized word "usa"., 1938 |
| Founder | Lloyd Anderson, Mary Anderson, and four associates |
| Headquarters | Kent, Washington , United States |
Area served | United States (41 states) |
Key people | Mary Beth Laughton (CEO, 2025–present) |
| Products | Outdoor gear and apparel for camping, hiking, climbing, cycling, water sports, running, fitness, snow sports, travel |
Number of employees | 15,000+ (2022) |
| Website | www |
Recreational Equipment, Inc., commonly known as REI, is a U.S.-based retail and outdoor recreation company. Functioning as a consumer cooperative, it offers gear and apparel for activities such as camping, hiking, climbing, cycling, water sports, running, fitness, snow sports, and travel for men, women, and children. Notably, REI does not retail hunting or fishing equipment.
With 181 storefronts in 41 states, REI also processes orders through mail and online channels.
History
Established in 1938 in Seattle by entrepreneurs Lloyd (1902–2000) and Mary Anderson (1909–2017), REI originated as a cooperative aimed at providing affordable, high-quality climbing equipment. The Recreational Equipment Cooperative was initiated with contributions of one dollar each from the founders and four associates. Its initial operations took place on a shelf within a local farmers' cooperative near Pike Place Market before relocating to a dedicated facility by 1942.
Jim Whittaker became REI’s first full-time staff member in 1955 and later assumed the role of CEO during the 1960s. His landmark ascent of Mount Everest in 1963 significantly elevated the company’s profile, helping REI surpass $1 million in revenue by 1964.
During the 1970s, REI concentrated on serving dedicated climbers and backpackers but broadened its inventory throughout the 1980s to include camping, kayaking, cycling, and additional outdoor pursuits. In 1981, the company acquired Mountain Safety Research (MSR), though it exited the manufacturing sector in 2001 by selling MSR to Cascade Designs. REI also placed greater focus on sport-casual clothing over time. After minimizing the “co-op” branding for several years, REI prominently reinstated it with a refreshed logo in 2015 along with launching its own Co-Op apparel line.
Leadership changes saw Sally Jewell join the board in 1996, ascend to COO in 2000, then serve as CEO from 2005 until her appointment as U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 2013. Jerry Stritzke followed as CEO until his departure in 2019 when Eric Artz assumed leadership. In early 2025, Mary Beth Laughton was appointed CEO succeeding Artz upon his retirement announcement.
REI has taken distinct strategic actions such as participating in the 2018 NRA boycott by halting orders from Vista Outdoor following the Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy. Demonstrating retail innovation, REI closed all its stores on Black Friday beginning in 2015 to promote its #OptOutside initiative that encourages spending time outdoors rather than shopping—a tradition maintained through at least 2022.
In response to economic pressures after the pandemic, REI reduced its corporate workforce by 8% (167 roles) in January 2023 to improve profitability amid declining demand for outdoor equipment. Further cuts occurred in January 2025 when over 400 positions were eliminated alongside discontinuing its underperforming Experiences division that provided classes and adventure tours.
This timeline illustrates REI’s adaptive business approach that balances cooperative principles with expansion across retail operations and product diversification.
Non-retail diversification
REI broadened its scope into international adventure travel through the launch of REI Adventures in 1987, catering to active travelers globally.
In 2006, REI rolled out the Outdoor School concept in select locations offering local day trips and educational classes such as mountain biking, kayaking, backpacking, climbing, outdoor photography, and snowshoeing. Presently, these programs operate in regions including the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston/New England, New York Tri-State area, Philadelphia, Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia corridor, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Atlanta, Portland, and Puget Sound.
On June 11, 2015, REI acquired Adventure Projects Inc., a Boulder-based company founded in 2012 by Nick Wilder and Mike Ahnemann. Known primarily for MountainProject.com—which offers guides to more than 128,000 climbing routes worldwide—Adventure Projects also operates MTBProject.com (mountain biking), HikingProject.com (hiking trails), PowderProject.com (backcountry skiing), and TrailRunProject.com (cross-country running). This acquisition enhanced REI’s digital presence for outdoor activity planning.
On January 8, 2025, REI announced it would shut down its 'Experiences' segment and lay off hundreds of employees. CEO Eric Artz attributed this decision to low profitability and limited customer engagement—serving only about 40,000 clients in 2024 which accounted for less than 0.4% of cooperative members—prompting a strategic withdrawal from this business area.
Location
REI functions as a member-owned cooperative with its headquarters located in Kent, Washington. Each member possesses a single voting share and is eligible to receive patronage dividends. In 2016, the company revealed intentions to establish a new headquarters within Bellevue's Spring District, initially planned to open in 2020. Nevertheless, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, REI sold the unused campus in August 2020 and shifted its corporate workforce to remote operations distributed across various sites in the Seattle region.
The organization operates five flagship stores situated in prominent U.S. metropolitan areas, each featuring event venues and indoor climbing facilities. The flagship store in Seattle’s Cascade neighborhood began operations in 1996. Other flagship locations include Bloomington, Minnesota; the historic Uline Arena in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Denver, Colorado. These flagship outlets function as central retail locations that reinforce REI’s market influence and leadership within the outdoor retail sector.
Membership
Ownership of REI lies with active members who pay a one-time lifetime membership fee, currently set at $30. Members have the right to vote for the board of directors from candidates endorsed by the sitting board. Patronage dividends are awarded to members on qualifying purchases and are issued as store credit rather than cash payments. The lifetime membership fee was $5 back in 1985. Typically, the annual dividend amounts to about 10% of a member’s previous year spending on full-priced merchandise and is independent of REI’s overall profitability.
Governance
REI is incorporated under Washington state law and is overseen by a board of directors consisting of 13 members, including the CEO. Directors serve terms of either one or three years and are appointed through the nomination and governance committee of the board. Whereas earlier board elections permitted self-nomination by candidates, current procedures limit nominations to match the number of open seats. Voting by members occurs via mail or online ballots, with nominees needing at least 50% of returned votes to be elected. The board also fills any vacancies through appointments. In 2014, the CEO’s annual salary was roughly $2.71 million. The board bears legal responsibility for guiding REI’s strategic goals and performance, setting overarching policies while supervising management within those frameworks.
Labor
As of January 2022, REI employed upwards of 15,000 individuals, predominantly in retail roles with many part-time positions. Employee benefits encompass merchandise discounts, participation in outdoor education classes, and paid "Way day" passes for recreational outdoor activities. The company has consistently been recognized among Fortune magazine’s top 100 U.S. workplaces, earning induction into its "Hall of Fame," with rankings such as #8 in 2012 and #28 in 2017.
Labor organizing and criticism
Since 2013, REI employees have mobilized around workplace concerns including fair wages, scheduling practices, healthcare availability, and safety measures. Despite its cooperative structure, REI lacks formal trade unions and has faced allegations of union opposition tactics such as captive audience meetings and anti-union communications. Workers have submitted several petitions since 2016; notably, the SoHo store in Manhattan filed REI’s inaugural National Labor Relations Board petition to unionize in January 2022.
In March 2022, employees at the SoHo location voted 88-14 in favor of unionizing under the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Further union successes followed in Orange, Ohio (March 2023), Eugene, Oregon (petition filed April 2023), and Durham, North Carolina (May 2023), where workers joined the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union after striking over alleged retaliatory actions. By mid-2023, six REI stores had formed unions.
As of April 2024, none of these unionized stores had finalized collective bargaining agreements. In November 2023, employees at eight REI stores accused the company of violating multiple federal labor laws, including retaliating against pro-union staff and failing to engage in good faith bargaining.
Environmental and community initiatives
REI actively contributes to local communities by offering complimentary meeting facilities to non-profit organizations, supporting environmental preservation projects, and coordinating yearly outdoor volunteer activities. Each year, the company allocates funds to conservation organizations across the United States; in 2007, these donations amounted to $3.7 million, representing roughly 0.28% of its $1.3 billion in total sales.