REI’s secrets to sustaining a beloved brand and touching grass

REI’s central challenge is to become financially strong enough to serve its members and mission for another 88 years without losing the values, heritage, and strengths that make the co-op distinctive. Its mission is to connect people to the power of the outdoors, whether they climb 14ers or spend time in an urban park. Studies conducted by REI and partner organizations found that even 20 minutes outdoors a day can benefit mental and physical health.

CEO Mary Beth Lawton said she spent her first months listening to employees, store teams, vendor partners, and others before developing the Peak 28 strategic plan with her team within six months. Member engagement suggested the co-op needed to change direction, profitability had been weak for several years, and retail fundamentals needed attention. REI still needs profit and cash flow to stay healthy, but Lawton described profit as a means of funding its purpose. As a co-op with no shareholders and no quarterly earnings calls, REI and its board can focus on sustainable long-term growth.

REI is the largest consumer co-op in the US, with 26 million members. A $30 lifetime membership includes a 10% dividend on purchases each year, and the co-op is looking for more ways to make membership valuable, including store classes and discounted AllTrails access. Members are not equity owners, but Lawton said they have a strong stake in the co-op and hold it to a high standard. That expectation makes member trust central to sustaining the brand, not simply a benefit of the membership program.

Lawton described REI’s green-vested employees as part of its “secret sauce”: their outdoor experience helps customers choose suitable gear. REI has 200 US stores and is also bringing staff recommendations and product videos to its website, where customers engage with and like the videos. The effort reflects a broader need to preserve the helpful, knowledgeable service associated with stores while serving customers online.

REI also wants to be discoverable in AI chatbots while drawing customers to REI.com, its stores, and its app. Lawton said bot traffic can raise costs and slow the site, while blocking bots could reduce REI’s visibility. She sees AI as a transformative shift that the co-op must engage with responsibly rather than risk being left behind. The trade-off is to participate in a changing discovery environment without allowing that participation to undermine the direct customer experience.

The co-op uses its mission and values to guide advocacy for public lands through donations, work with policymakers, and letters sent through its cooperative action network. REI withdrew support for Doug Bergman for Interior Secretary after concluding that some of his positions conflicted with its values. Lawton said the organization publicly acknowledged its mistake and learned to listen more closely to members; members appreciated the transparency even as some remained angry. She also said REI is bargaining with its unions in good faith but could not discuss negotiations. In response to union members’ request that 70,000 co-op members boycott some REI goods, Lawton called a boycott counterintuitive: sales support the business and can contribute to higher employee bonuses.