REI to open its 31st store in California next year
REI Co-op continues to expand across the U.S.
The specialty outdoor retailer will open a store at Oakbrook Village in Laguna Hills, Calif., in fall 2023. It will be REI’s 12 location in the Los Angeles area.
The approximately 33,000-sq.-ft. outpost will house a wide assortment of apparel, gear and expertise for camping, cycling, running, fitness, hiking, paddling, climbing, snow sports and more. It will also feature a full-service bike shop staffed by certified mechanics. A ski and snowboard shop will offer professional tuning, waxing and repairs.
Other REI locations scheduled to open next year include a 21,100-sq.-ft. store at Huntington Shopping Center in Huntington, New York, which will debut in summer 2023. And on November 11, 2022, REI will open in Tallahassee, Fla. It will be the retailer’s first store in the Panhandle and seventh in Florida.
"REI first came to the Los Angeles area in 1977 through our original Manhattan Beach location, which was our fourth store in our history," said Steve Lochan, REI's divisional VP of retail. "Once open, REI Laguna Hills will be our 12th store in the market to better serve our 1.7 million members and the greater outdoor community who live, work and play in the southern end of Los Angeles."
REI counts 4.6 million members in California, with 1.7 million in the Los Angeles DMA.
REI, which has made Black Friday a permanent holiday for all its employees, partners with nonprofits across the nation to steward and maintain local trails and public lands to connect more people to the outdoors. Last year, the retailer invested $7.1 million in more than 450 nonprofits across the country. During the last five years, it has invested more than $745,000 in New York-based land agencies and nonprofit partners.
REI launched the REI Cooperative Action Fund last year, a community-supported public charity designed to harness the collective power of the co-op’s members and employees to build a more just, equitable and inclusive outdoor culture.
The nation's largest consumer co-op, REI has 178 locations in 42 states and the District of Columbia. REI's active adventure travel company runs more than 100 itineraries across the country.