Recreational Equipment, Inc. reported numbers public companies would die for. The giant Seattle outdoor retailer said sales grew 13.5% to $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2007. REI’s comp store sales grew 8.2%, marking three consecutive years of 8% or higher growth.  For the year, REI’s operating income increased 0.9% to $106.5 million and net income increased from 2.7% to $41.4 million.  Sales by the co-op’s direct sales channel, which includes on-line and catalog sales, rose 16.1% for the year.

The co-op also added 625,000 members, up 13% from the previous year.  REI said that more than 8.75 million individuals have become REI members since 1938.  The company on January 1 raised its life-time membership fee for the first time in nearly 15 years, increasing it from $15 to $20 .


The company said it would distribute $62.8 million in dividends to its 3.4 million active members later this month.  The dividends are equal to 10% of each member's eligible 2007 purchases. REI said it will spend another $3.7 million of its profits on its grants program to support conservation and recreational access in the coming year.


The sales growth was driven in part by expansion. The company opened seven new stores – Marina, CA; Fresno, CA; Cranston, RI; West Hartford, CT; Schaumburg, IL; Portland, OR; and Issaquah, WA.  REI also opened a 525,000-square-foot regional distribution center in Bedford, PA that will speed up both store replenishment and direct sales shipments to 42 REI stores located in Texas or east of the Mississippi. The warehouse, which will handle approximately 50% of the co-op’s direct-to-customer business, represents REI’s largest capital spending project ever.  Finally, the co-op said trip bookings for REI Adventures rose 45%.