REI to open second Missouri co-op in spring 2022
The Seattle-based outdoor retail giant is bringing a new store to the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, Mo.
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Seattle-based REI Co-op on Wednesday announced it will open its second store in Missouri—and second in the St. Louis area—next spring when the outdoor retailer sets up shop in the suburb of Town and Country, Mo.
The 23,000-square-foot location, which will carry REI’s usual assortment of apparel, gear, and accessories, will also offer a full-service bike shop.
“After joining the St. Louis community in 2001, we look forward to expanding our support and impact with our second location in Town and Country,” said Kurt Feilke, REI retail divisional vice president. “In addition to offering expertise and great gear, we will continue to invest in the natural places that make this region so special.”
As REI always does when announcing plans for a new store, the co-op touted its investment in the local community.
REI said that since 2002 (the St. Louis store opened in 2001), it has invested $500,000 in Missouri land agencies and nonprofit partners, of which $180,000 was directed to St. Louis-based nonprofits. Investments this year include Great Rivers Greenway Foundation, Heartland Conservation Alliance, Ozark Trail Association, Trailnet, and Urban Trail Co.
The Town and Country store is the latest in REI’s growing footprint. The co-op this year has been busy opening new stores and announcing new locales that are slated for either later this year or 2022.
Read more: A deep dive into REI’s growth and what the retailer’s future might hold
Last month, REI said it will debut a new retail category this fall with the opening of a store in Cambridge, Mass., that the company is calling its “first-ever small-format neighborhood store.” The location will occupy just 8,000 square feet, with 6,500 square feet of customer-facing space featuring a highly curated selection of goods.
In May, the co-op announced two new regularly sized locales coming to Florida—Palm Beach Gardens and Tallahassee—next spring, bringing its Sunshine State total to seven.
And while not a new store, REI said it plans to relocate its Mountain View, Calif., co-op to nearby Sunnyvale later this year because of a larger retail space there.
REI also announced it will open new stores in Orland Park, Ill., Santa Cruz, Calif., and Westbrook, Maine, this fall.
These moves signal that REI appears to be back on track financially after a difficult year due to Covid-19. Despite 2020 revenue and income dips, the co-op is in a strong cash position—in part because REI was able to unload its headquarters last year—and it’s debt-free. At the same time, outdoor apparel and gear sales continue their upswing.
