REI has promoted Angela Owen to VP of Merchandising. Owen, who joined REI's staff in 1990, has been promoted through positions spanning all of REI's product categories, with her most recent position being director of merchandise management for REI's camp/paddle/travel division. In addition, she's played a key role on several company-wide project teams, including retail store planning, category management and sales planning.

In her new role, Owen will develop merchandising strategies and provide leadership in the areas of product assortment and quality assurance, vendor partnership development, profitability and inventory management. In addition, she will work closely with REI product development, marketing, visual merchandising, retail and direct sales teams.

Owen is also a volunteer with the Northwest Interpretive Association, and in her spare
time she enjoys skiing and travel. Prior to joining REI, Owen worked at Eddie Bauer, Inc. where she worked as a buyer for accessories.