I love Recreation Equipment, Inc. (REI)

I guess I should elaborate.

I love all the possibilities I feel when walking into an REI store.

You reach for the ice-axe door handle and open the doors as if you were Charlie Bucket, stepping into Willy Wonka’s mythical Chocolate Factory. There, you are greeted with gear that unlocks all of nature's beauty and wonderment.

The employees are pseudo-Oompa-Loompa-like with their canvas vests, unique name tags, and vast knowledge. The store smells of ski/board wax, bike grease, and a woodsy aroma.

You’ve most likely parked your vehicle in a strip mall. Upon stepping past the store threshold, though, you feel magically transported to a gear locker, preparing you for a visit to a national park, ski destination, or serene secret hike known only by a few locals. This is the secret sauce of REI Co-Op stores.

I have a subscription to Outside Magazine

It’s a fantastic publication highlighting all that one can do in the great outdoors. There are featured stories, destination suggestions, and gear reviews, among many other things. I marvel through the pages each month, similar to how I would with the JC Penney toy catalog each holiday season as a little boy.

While reading Outside Magazine, I fantasize about packing my family up in a van and exploring our country’s beautiful national parks while the rest of the population is busy at work. I want to sip a cocktail with my wife in an Icelandic geothermal pool while mapping out the next trip that we will take our children on—perhaps to explore a cloud forest, or maybe an expedition to the Galápagos Islands.

I yearn to sit and write a blog post from a small lake home. I imagine waking up, paddleboarding, taking an outdoor shower, pouring a cup of coffee from my Technivorm Moccamaster, and then allowing the creativity to flow from my fingertips as I type along to the sounds of nature. Somehow, being at REI makes me feel like that dream is not so far away.

As silly as it may seem, these are the fantasies that play out in my mind when I step through the entryway of an REI Co-Op storefront. So how did REI create this nature-engaging, exploratory atmosphere?

It all started with an Ice Axe…

According to an REI Staff blog post written on March 13th, 2016, in 1935, Seattle-based outdoors people Lloyd and Mary Anderson pioneered a better way of getting outdoor gear to the masses.

Instead of relying on middlemen to purchase mountaineering equipment (such as an Austrian ice axe), who would up-charge consumers and sell knock-off products, they went directly to the Austrian supplier and had the axes shipped to Seattle, where they would, in turn, sell authentic products at a fraction of the price.

Friends and colleagues quickly caught wind of what the Andersons were up to. Also seeking to stretch their bucks with quality gear, they wanted to get involved. Eager to outfit others with quality, affordable gear, Lloyd and Mary decided to collect money in larger batches to increase buying power and lower the cost of goods for all. And thus, out of a wilderness spirit, our co-op was born.

Fast forward to May 2023, and there are 179 REI stores in the United States. California leads the way with 30 stores. It makes sense considering that you can be outside enjoying California’s nature year-round!

Culture

In 2015, REI refused to open for Black Friday and instead gave its employees a paid day of vacation.

All of REI’s retail and distribution locations and headquarters closed on the historically shopping-driven holiday. Even the website took a vacation. It was changed to give information about getting outside.

Visits to REI’s website rose 26 percent on Black Friday of 2015. The message worked and helped REI post record revenue and membership increases for the year.

Personally, I can’t stand crowds, and crowds of ravenous shoppers top my list of things that need to go away. (see below)

REI walks the talk, and I respect their honor of “values over profits.”

For employees with fifteen years of tenure, REI offers a consecutive four-week, company-paid sabbatical. This benefit is repeated for each additional five years of service.

The benefits align beautifully with their culture.

Customer Service

I went in one day to buy some new hiking shoes. The gentleman who helped me (we’ll call him “John”) was fantastic. He asked me a ton of questions about how much hiking I do and what type of terrain I typically encounter, and he pulled out a bunch of shoe boxes (on top of the ones that I just thought looked cool).

I tried several pairs of boots on and took steps up and down the replica boulder to simulate an actual ascent or descent. Finally, I found the pair for me. John and I spoke even further about the upcoming hikes that I was planning, and he had some fantastic suggestions to help me maximize our trip.

John’s customer service, which I’ve found to be consistent amongst most employees at REI is what most retailers should aspire to achieve.

I wasn’t “sold to”

John identified the needs that I had, asked thought-provoking questions, applied his experiences, and helped me find the best product to suit my goals. If I wasn’t completely satisfied with those boots, REI would take them back immediately for a credit or exchange.

Being a member pays!

Joining the Co-Op only costs $30, and your membership lasts a lifetime.

Do you also have two 7-year-old daughters? Sign them up as well and take advantage of the additional 20% off coupons throughout the year.

The 20% off coupons are offered three times per year on top of sporadic sales events throughout the year.

Joining the Co-Op also nets you 10% back on eligible purchases. This 10% comes back to you in the form of a dividend, paid out to all members annually in March.

Want to supercharge that dividend?

Apply for the REI Co-Op credit card. This is a no-fee card that will earn its users an additional 5% back on REI purchases and 1.5% back on all other purchases. There’s typically a $100 sign-up bonus upon qualification and your first purchase with your card.

I use an REI analogy when sharing the difference between my day job and our competitors:

The competition is like Walmart; you can get everything there, and it’s all decent stuff. They are a huge publicly traded company, and they don’t really specialize in anything. You can buy your camping gear there, but if you are going on a legit backwoods trip or want gear that will stand up to the elements, you go to REI.

My company is like REI; we are very good at what we do. We are privately held, and our representatives provide service and technical knowledge that are second to none. Best of all, we partner with you to offer tremendous value despite the fact that we aren’t always the lowest-cost option.

When I share that message, knowing that my customer is an REI shopper, he or she just gets it. It turns out that I’m not the only one who feels the way I do about the REI Co-Op.

In conclusion

I’d like to wrap up this love letter with a heartfelt Thank You to the good people at REI. You keep doing you, and we’ll continue to hike along on the journey.

In me, REI has a customer for life. In REI, I have a retailer that defines the lifestyle that I strive for. Together, we are a match made in the great outdoors.

https://www.rei.com/blog/camp/rei-history-it-started-with-an-ice-axe

https://www.outsideonline.com/

https://www.reihistory.com/

https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/REI-USA/#:~:text=There%20are%20179%20REI%20stores,as%20of%20May%2008%2C%202023.

https://rei.jobs/careers/MicroSiteCulture

https://www.rei.com/membership

https://www.rei.com/membership/mastercard/benefits