By Karenna Awtry
REI, the largest consumer cooperative in the United States, boasts more than three million active members. Its award-winning outdoor gear and clothing is exclusively designed by the company, which backs its entire line of products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
REI stands behind the quality of its products and the support of its employees. FORTUNE magazine has granted REI the prestigious honor of ranking it among its “100 Best Companies to Work For” every single year since 1998, when the magazine first started compiling the list.
Conservation and education are cornerstones of REI’s business. The company gives millions of dollars to national conservation efforts every year. In addition, REI dedicates volunteers each year to help with trail building, beach cleanup efforts and outdoors education for children.
The company’s enthusiasm for outdoors endeavors shows in its quality products as well as its community service. The feeling is infectious, fostering a love of the outdoors and greater stewardship of the planet among its millions of customers.
REI’s birth story is one of need — not for profit, but for a single piece of climbing gear. In the 1930’s, REI founder Lloyd Anderson, who was a mountaineer from the Pacific Northwest region, was looking for an ice axe. He wanted one that would be reliable and thrifty and he was disappointed to find that the best choice was found not locally, but in a catalog from an Austrian alpine gear company. His $3.50 find became a celebrated discovery in the Seattle-area climbing community. Inspired, Lloyd and his wife partnered with 21 fellow climbers and together they formed an outdoor gear co-op. The year was 1938.
REI’s continued expansion does not pull it away from its founding spirit. The company remains true to its mepassion for the outdoor sporting lifestyle, making it not only a consumer goods retailer, but also a proponent of the greater ideals of adventuring.
Frequent clinics and expert lessons offered at its nationwide retail stores and on its website, REI.com, support its dedication to spreading the taste for the outdoors. REI’s active members and customers alike praise its dedication to customer service, including a variety of shopping options, such as online, catalog, over-the-phone, and in-person purchasing. Customers can even join REI in the outdoors through its travel arm, REI Adventures.
The products offered by REI include outdoors gear and apparel for adults and children. REI-brand products are available only through REI and cannot be found at other retailers. Mountain, touring and road bike lines produced by REI go by the brand name of Novara, and also includes bikes for casual riders and kids. REI retail stores also sell outdoors and sporting gear produced by other quality companies and offer a variety of brand name products.
