New REI locations will plant roots in California and New York.

In a cautionary note around experiential retailing, REI Co-op announced plans to shutter its Experiences business. Is REI losing its differentiation?

REI recently confirmed that it was banning a small fraction of frequent returners from making any more exchanges or returns. The outdoor retailer is known for its customer-friendly return policies, allowing returns for a replacement or refund within one year of the purchase date for co-op members or within 90 days for non-members. REI said…

REI Co-op is gearing up for a summer of outdoor adventure with over 300 free classes and events scheduled nationwide on Saturday, June 15. How can REI measure the success of events like Opt Outside?

REI has set its sights on expanding camping opportunities with a recent acquisition. How does REI’s strategy of combining the thrill of outdoor exploration with modern amenities align with evolving consumer expectations for experiential retail?

REI, Patagonia and The North Face plan to boycott the Outdoor Retailer show once it returns to Salt Lake City in 2023 in a spat over the Utah legislature’s stance on public land protection. Do you support moves by major outdoor retailers and vendors to boycott the Outdoor Retailer show’s return to Salt Lake City over Utah’s environmental policies?

Mimicking nutritional rating labels aimed at encouraging healthier eating, Target has introduced a new Target Zero icon to make it easier for consumers to identify products designed to reduce waste. What do you think of the potential appeal of Target Zero and similar labels to guide sustainable purchases?

Outdoor apparel brand Eddie Bauer is launching a new content hub for all of its in-house and user-generated content. How likely is content creation à la  Eddie Bauer and REI to become table stakes in the outdoors retail space?

For the first time in 84 years, REI has updated its lifetime membership program with five new benefits and a higher price , with a goal to more than double membership. Will the upgrades to REI’s lifetime membership program help the co-op reach a younger and more diverse audience?

Target last week announced plans to significantly downsize its corporate offices, joining a number of other retailers embracing a flexible, hybrid work model that enables some employees to continue working from home. What challenges may retailers face trying to optimize the benefits of a hybrid in-person/work-from-home model?

Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to test a new outdoors concept, called Public Lands, in 2021 as scores of Americans’ have embraced outdoor activities during the pandemic. Is now a ripe time for Dick’s to launch an outdoors-themed concept?

With the elevated environmental risks posed by this year’s hurricane and wildfire seasons in the U.S. as a backdrop, Walmart, Amazon.com and REI this week launched major climate change initiatives. How large a role will retailers and the overall consumer products industry likely play in helping to highlight and battle climate change?

REI Co-op has announced plans to sell its newly completed corporate campus in Bellevue, WA, and “lean into remote working as an engrained, supported and normalized model.” What steps will be critical for REI to ensure the shift to remote working and multiple satellite campuses proves effective?

REI and The North Face on Friday became the first prominent firms to agree to stop buying Facebook ads because of how the platform polices hate speech and misinformation. What should guide decisions on whether retailers and brands pull advertising from a social media platform due to content?

REI, the outdoor chain, and West Elm, the home furnishings retailer, have partnered on a collection “aimed at helping people feel at home, outdoors.” Do you see more advantages than potential conflicts in product collaboration between retailers, such as the one between REI and West Elm?

REI has closed on Black Friday in the past to encourage employees and customers to forgo the craze of commercialism at malls and explore the outdoors. This year, it’s looking for a bigger eco-commitment. Does REI’s call for an eco-commitment behind #OptOutside elevate the campaign or carry risks, due to its more serious tone?

REI has become the latest retailer to roll out vendor direct shipments to help expand its online offerings.  Does drop shipping make more sense for retailers such as REI and Macy’s and less for others?

REI, the outdoor-themed co-op, has opened a new concept that’s less about where members “live, work and shop” and more about where they “get outside and play.” What do you think of REI’s “experiences” store in New Hampshire?

REI is discontinuing its mail order catalog in favor of launching the Uncommon Path print magazine dedicated to delivering inspirational stories about outdoor life and culture. What do you think of REI’s move to replace its mail order catalog with the Uncommon Path print magazine?

Addressing needs for both sustainability and affordability, REI is making its used gear website permanent while adding a number of enhancements. Will selling “high-quality, lightly used product at lower price points” likely impact REI’s sale of full-price items and overall margins?

REI has introduced rigorous product sustainability standards that apply to each of the more than 1,000 brands sold at the co-op. Is REI going too far with its sustainability requirements for vendors?

A new customer survey by HRC Retail Advisory reports some rather startling findings: 95 percent of shoppers want to be left alone while shopping. How should stores balance technology investments that enable associates versus those that enable shoppers?

Its own recent history suggests that REI shouldn’t take too much of a business hit closing its stores and giving its workers a paid day off on Black Friday. But will this be the year the outdoor co-op regrets doing the same for its website? Do you see REI’s decision to close its stores and hold off processing online orders on Black Friday coming back to bite it?

Black Friday is not the big deal it used to be. That’s according to new research, which finds a dwindling percentage of Americans plan to shop on the day that traditionally starts the Christmas selling season. How should retailers approach marketing for Black Friday when it has lost much of its significance for consumers?

The consumer electronics retailer, hhgregg, is the latest retail chain to announce it is giving store employees the day off on Thanksgiving. Do you see a stronger business case for retailers staying open or closed on Thanksgiving?

According to Lee Peterson, EVP brand, strategy & design, WD Partners, a “Third Wave” of hybrid retail is arriving in 2016. “Whether they started in e-com or simply with the omni-shopper in mind, they’re winning due to their focus on quality, simplicity and connectivity.” Which niche specialists most impress you on the retail scene?

According to the NRF’s final consumer holiday spending survey of the season, about 22 percent of consumers are planning to give an experience-type gift and 37 percent would like to receive one. However, those numbers jump significantly for Millennials. Do you see experiential gift giving taking an ever-larger amount of dollars typically spent on traditional holiday gifts?

About two weeks after earning wide praise for his decision not to open his company’s doors on Black Friday, Jerry Stritzke, REI’s CEO, fielded questions via an “Ask Me Anything” event on Reddit. Unfortunately, largely negative comments came back. How transparent should executives be around labor issues with employees?

REI was already giving its employees Thanksgiving off. Then management decided that wasn’t enough and gave them Black Friday off as well, with pay. What is your reaction to REI’s decision to close on Thanksgiving and Black Friday? Will the move and #OptOutside campaign win or lose REI customers?

At a session at NRF’s Big Show on Sunday, execs at three retailers—CVS, REI and Giant Eagle—explored the extensive reach of health & wellness across retail categories and its expanding momentum. Will health & wellness become an even stronger trend driver across categories in the years ahead?

One of the things that has earned outdoors retailer REI so many fans over the years has been the cooperative’s 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Now that has resulted in a free product placement in the new film “Wild.” What role do return policies and satisfaction guarantees play in consumers’ purchasing decisions?

Retailers are still looking to add store staff for the holidays, but where do prospective seasonal hires want to work? That’s the question the job search engine, Simply Hired, is looking to answer. What are the primary reasons that seasonal workers seek employment with a particular retailer?

As the outdoors retailer has become known as “Rental Equipment Inc, REI’s 100 percent satisfaction guarantee pledge has gone from having no time limits to being capped at one year. Is this something that others with generous return policies will need to do, as well?

While not matching the glitz of the Oscars, many major retailers and regionals often take the early months of the year to honor their top suppliers. Are you a fan of ‘Vendor Of The Year’ awards? What should a retailer’s criteria be for honoring their vendors?

Social media has become a place for consumers to vent. But many individuals go online to connect with friends, family and even brands and companies they like. An article published on the Fast Company website last week discussed a tweeted question to REI: “What is the best gift suggestion you have this year?” What wows you most about how REI is using social media?

Benefiting from its work culture as well as the many perks that extend to part-timers, REI for the second year in a row ranked highest in Glassdoor’s 2013 Best Place to Work. Are perks and overall culture becoming more important drivers of employee satisfaction for stores vs. pay levels?

Parts of Manhattan may seem like a canyon surrounded by tall mountains, but there is little about maneuvering around the city that makes you think of the need for outdoor recreation gear. Is REI a good fit for Manhattan?

When Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) was begun as a co-op n 1938 by some friends in Seattle who enjoyed mountain-climbing, it was never intended to be a retail juggernaut. Move ahead to 2005 and REI is not only a force in the outside recreation business ($1 billion in sales last year), but many credit it with having virtually created the $18 billion market. Is it possible for companies to maintain their ideals and become hugely successful at the same time?

To be eligible for health benefits from REI, workers need to be employed by the company for 30 days. That’s it. Beginning in January, the retailer will begin offering health benefits to all employees regardless of how many hours they work as long as they meet the 30-day requirement. What is your reaction to the health benefit decisions made by REI and Mervyn’s?

Well, whether there is a white Christmas or not this year, the one thing online retailers are probably hoping they don’t see coming down this holiday season are gas prices. Turns out high prices at the pump are good for etailers. According to a recent study by Shopzilla reported on by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “40 percent of consumers said high fuel prices made them hop online more often to shop, rather than hopping in their car.” What do you look for with online sales this holiday season?

A report in the Puget Sound Business Journal says managers at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) stores will begin making posts to weblogs next month to communicate information of interest to customers who shop in their stores. What do you think about REI’s initial steps into blogging to communicate with shoppers on a local level? Are blogs something every retailer should consider doing?