At a session at the NRF Big Show in New York City, Mary Beth Laughton, president of REI, talked about the retailer’s many “unique assets,” citing its co-op structure, outdoor mission and “green vests” in-store associates, but also the “unique challenges” that are behind its “Peak 28: Ascending Together” three-year transformation.
She said of the challenges, “One of those is because we’re a co-op and we’re an 87-year-old brand and retailer. Sometimes that means people are really…they’re so passionate. We have such a great heritage, but they’re focused on the way the co-op was. And so, I think, my challenge coming into this role is: ‘How can I take us into the future while still preserving what makes a co-op great?’ And so, it’s that balance, but that’s one of the challenges of the role.”
Laughton, who previously headed Nike’s global direct-to-consumer business and earlier led Athleta, joined REI as CEO in February 2025 after the co-op reported sales declined 6.2 percent in 2024 and 2.4 percent in 2023 while showing losses in both years.
Laughton said she was attracted to the role due to the co-op’s mission and the values around the outdoors, her own interest in the outdoors, REI’s growth potential and her confidence that she could make an “impact” to put REI on a more solid footing.
“We’re definitely at an exciting place for the co-op,” said Laughton. “Lots of growth potential ahead. We’re also making sure we put in the retail fundamentals to enable scale. And so I really love that sweet spot.”
On her first day, she sent an internal memo to all 15,000 REI employees to seek their opinion on “What is it that we need to preserve, that does make us special…to make sure we don’t lose?” as well as “Where are the challenges? Where are the opportunities?”
She then underwent a three-month “listening and learning tour,” including visits to stores, distribution centers and vendor partners, as well as conversations with corporate staff exploring similar issues.
She heard conflicting comments with some calling for REI to “preserve the culture” and others seeking to “evolve the culture.”
Laughton elaborated, “So, things like at holiday, we have this Twinkie Roast celebration and traditions like that are important that we keep alive. And yet, on the other side of that, I really heard a lot about how we need to make sure that we are being focused on things that really matter to the co-op and have a clear strategic plan. I heard a lot of feedback about that. Then I also heard that we need to make sure that we’re thinking with the future in mind.”
Laughton added, “We talked a lot about positioning of the company, and what is the positioning for REI that’s going to help us differentiate and win in what’s a pretty crowded outdoor marketplace.”
The feedback helped inform “Peak 28: Ascending Together,” the three-year transformation strategy announced in late September that embraces four strategic pillars. Laughton said, “It was intentional in terms of the naming. We wanted to signal to the organization that, yes, this is about our three-year priorities to get to 2028, but it was also about doing it together as a team and doing it with our customers.”
The overarching theme of the strategy was the idea that REI is the “most trusted retailer for people who love the outdoors.”
Laughton explained, “We realized trust, in today’s world, is going to be even more important, and we have a lot of authenticity and heritage in terms of being someone that people trust, whether it’s our product quality or the fact that you can return products or you can get great service in our stores or online. So that was important to nail that positioning.”
Among the four strategic pillars was a commitment to “authentic, culturally leading assortment.” Laughton said, “So, if someone comes into our stores, they’ve got to feel like we have a great set of products for them, particularly in our core categories.”
A second pillar is to continue ensuring REI delivers an “elevated service and experience” both in-store and online. Laughton elaborated, “In a world that’s becoming more digital, more transactional, how do we make sure we really elevate our service and our experiences in a personalized, really emotional way?”
A third pillar focuses on reinventing its membership program. Laughton commented, “There’s a lot to do. We have those 25 million members. How do we delight them and create the strongest membership program we can?”
She noted that some member perks will be reimagined. She noted that REI last November teamed up with Intrepid Travel to again offer small-group tours worldwide after the previous January shuttering its internal Experiences travel platform due to financial difficulties. Laughton said of potential membership changes, “We’re putting everything on the table to make sure that we create a program that is not only financially viable, but also emotionally connects to our members.”
Finally, a focal pillar is establishing a “connected, focused and trailblazing culture.” Said Laughton, “Symbolically, we put it as the first pillar, and that is our culture. And the reason for that is we realized we could have this great plan on paper and a strategy that’s solid, but if we didn’t get the cultural evolution at the same time, the plan probably isn’t going to come to fruition. And so, our first pillar is about this idea for REI, it’s around a connected, focused and trailblazing culture, and we’ve been focused a lot on making sure we talk to that just as much as we do the other strategic pillars.”
One aspect of the business set to receive greater emphasis is its “green vests,” or in-store associates. She noted that REI is exploring ways to integrate in-store experts online, including within product testimonials on its product pages or showcasing product in videos on those product pages. She said, “We’re seeing conversion lift from it.”
REI’s in-store experts were also featured in REI’s holiday campaign. At the store level, REI will explore ways to encourage customers to interact more with in-store employees through events and classes, further elevating its 200 stores as community hubs.
“That’s such a differentiator for us, right?” said Laughton of the green vests. “Especially in a world where the transaction is just going to be super easy through AI [artificial intelligence]. So, we’ve got to lean into the green vests. If anyone’s been in our stores, they’re not just employees. They are trusted guides. They are passionate experts about the outdoors, and so we’re thinking a lot about how we can leverage them at any touch point.”
Laughton noted that REI’s values and commitments to conservation, the environment, and getting people outdoors won’t change. One of her first public moves was apologizing and retracting the co-op’s endorsement of Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior following backlash from employees and co-op members.
Laughton said the initial decision to endorse Burgum was made before she assumed the role of CEO, but with “good intent” to give REI a “voice at the table for important issues related to the outdoor industry.” However, conversations with co-op members and employees soon showed that the move was not aligned with REI’s values.
She said, “I apologized on behalf of the co-op, and what I’d say about that is that as much as people still didn’t like that we had made that decision and were upset with the co-op, I think they appreciated the transparency. I think they appreciated the apology. I think companies are never going to be perfect. And sometimes just apologizing and showing that vulnerability is really helpful.”
Laughton also noted that REI has remained committed to many of its diversity and inclusion programs despite outside pressures because “helping everybody get access to the outdoors” is a core part of REI’s mission.
She elaborated, “I think through those things, I just learned the importance of truly having a strong mission and vision that you live by. I’ve been at a variety of organizations, and it’s varied in terms of everyone has a mission. But the actual commitment to that mission when times are tough, I think, is telling. And it’s so great to be at an organization that has that guiding light in tough times in being able to look at the mission, vision and values and saying what is right for the company at this point.”
Images courtesy NRF / REI
