REI Co-Op (Kent, Wash.) said it will close three stores in the Northeast U.S. next year: its New York flagship, in that city’s famed Puck Building, and stores in Boston and Paramus, N.J.
The REI Co-Op in New York’s Puck Building is set to close next year. Photo: Brian Logan/iStock by Getty Images
“As markets and customer needs evolve, we must adapt to position the co-op for long-term success,” said CEO Mary Beth Laughton in a statement released to SBG Executive and other news sources. “We will continue serving members and customers at these locations until closing, and at our other stores across the New York and Boston regions.”
News of the closures comes on the heels of Laughton’s Sept. 29 message to employees outlining her blueprint to bolster the brand over the next three years via a plan titled “Peak 28.” In that memo, she noted that the goal is “to carry forward the best of who we’ve been these past 87 years, while also prioritizing work that drives long-term trust and strengthens the co-op for the future. We’ll have to make tough choices as we do so, to allow us to focus on the efforts that set us up to grow and thrive.”
Overall, REI operates 193 REI stores and two REI Re/Supply stores. Another outdoor brand, Orvis, also recently announced it was downsizing, but on a broader scale. As reported by VMSD.com, that Vermont-based retailer plans to cut its 60-plus store fleet roughly in half.