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Post by downriver on Jan 26, 2024 0:22:52 GMT -8
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Post by downriver on Jan 28, 2024 21:25:08 GMT -8
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Post by bpdanyel on Jan 30, 2024 19:01:10 GMT -8
This is sad news for REI and its employees. I hope the laid-off workers will find new opportunities soon, and REI will be able to overcome this difficult situation with the help of opening 10 stores this year.
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Post by bluefish on Jan 31, 2024 4:04:37 GMT -8
The Albany, NY store has been in the offing for awhile. It's location is a few mall doors down from an LL Bean store, which I like. I can't see both thriving in such close competition. I think the Bean store is far more fitting for the location. The REI was planned for 2 years ago, strange they continued after seeming to abandon it. The Covid explosion is on the downturn, not every person exposed to the outdoors during Covid has turned into avid backpackers, climbers, and whitewater boaters.
Edit: they are putting it in mall outside of the congested area where the only competition is Dicks. Much better placement for longevity.
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Post by leadbelly on Jan 31, 2024 6:48:00 GMT -8
In the DC metro, there is a suburban Maryland REI store that's literally across the street from an LL Bean store. The shopping development, which is a grid of streets with retail, restaurants, other businesses and apartments, was built in the last ten years. The 'North Bethesda' REI store replaced a smaller, older, and less-appealing REI store that had been located within a mile in a strip mall. The new store is much more well-done.
In suburban Virginia, there has been an REI store near the Tysons mall for a long time - a pretty nice store, quite large. The LL Bean store in the Tysons mall closed a few years ago.
REI opened what they call a 'flagship' store in the District of Columbia, in the NOMA neighborhood - an up and coming neighborhood not far from Union Station - last year. It's located in what was a coliseum/arena built in the 1940s - retained the brick structure and original wood flooring, with a facelift. It's along the same lines as the REI store in Soho, New York.
The articles do seem to say the layoffs are less oriented toward store workers, more toward corporate. I would think Seattle will feel this most directly.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 31, 2024 7:25:12 GMT -8
Yeah, just what Seattle needs, with shakeups at Boeing inevitable. Though thanks to tech (and them moving a bunch of operations to less desirable places), Boeing isn’t such a big player anymore. Not like in the 70s when cutbacks there tanked the whole local economy (anyone else remember the billboard—“Last person leaving Seattle please turn off the lights”?)
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Post by downriver on Jan 31, 2024 23:57:34 GMT -8
In the DC metro, there is a suburban Maryland REI store that's literally across the street from an LL Bean store. The shopping development, which is a grid of streets with retail, restaurants, other businesses and apartments, was built in the last ten years. The 'North Bethesda' REI store replaced a smaller, older, and less-appealing REI store that had been located within a mile in a strip mall. The new store is much more well-done. In suburban Virginia, there has been an REI store near the Tysons mall for a long time - a pretty nice store, quite large. The LL Bean store in the Tysons mall closed a few years ago. REI opened what they call a 'flagship' store in the District of Columbia, in the NOMA neighborhood - an up and coming neighborhood not far from Union Station - last year. It's located in what was a coliseum/arena built in the 1940s - retained the brick structure and original wood flooring, with a facelift. It's along the same lines as the REI store in Soho, New York. The articles do seem to say the layoffs are less oriented toward store workers, more toward corporate. I would think Seattle will feel this most directly. Leadbelly, Have you been to Patagonia’s D.C. store? I hear it’s rather small. I know they also have a Patagonia store in Alexandria, VA. Happy Trails, DR |
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Post by downriver on Feb 1, 2024 0:16:56 GMT -8
The Albany, NY store has been in the offing for awhile. It's location is a few mall doors down from an LL Bean store, which I like. I can't see both thriving in such close competition. I think the Bean store is far more fitting for the location. The REI was planned for 2 years ago, strange they continued after seeming to abandon it. The Covid explosion is on the downturn, not every person exposed to the outdoors during Covid has turned into avid backpackers, climbers, and whitewater boaters. Edit: they are putting it in mall outside of the congested area where the only competition is Dicks. Much better placement for longevity. Your post made me wonder how many stores LL Bean has in the USA. Well, 56 stores and outlets as of August 2023 in the USA with two more stores planned to open in MA last fall. 58 stores now. LL Bean plans to expand its brick & mortar business. I’ve never been to one of their stores. Happy Trails, DR |
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Post by bluefish on Feb 1, 2024 2:25:25 GMT -8
as of August 2023 in the USA with two more stores planned to open in MA last fall. 58 stores now. LL Bean plans to expand its brick & mortar business. I’ve never been to one of their stores. Happy Trails, DR DR, Bean is iconic in New England. They were known for phenomenal customer service and endless warranties. That's changed. However, they still attempt to be decent, and their product lines are well made, at least those I've purchased. I have lots, from luggage to daypacks to fleece lined jackets, to high tech GTX raingear, to even an Opinel #8 with a handle made from a buried maple log from Moosewood Lake. They also use to be a great, family oriented company to work for. I know several people that worked their entire careers for them. That I hear has changed, too, though employees seem pretty happy. One of the objects and plans on many people's vacation on the Maine Coast was a trip to the flagship store in Freeport, Maine. I never used REI for anything , except some supplies like gas cannisters on trips to the west. I had EMS and Bean that covered clothing and technical gear. Now the market is diluted and the bottom line falls quickly away, quality and service suffer. I relied on Bean and EMS brands to be up to snuff, and they were. Thankfully, my storage areas are full and new gear is beyond the point of redundancy. Doesn't mean I won't give the new REI a discerning walk through...lol. |
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Feb 1, 2024 2:29:51 GMT -8
The Patagonia store in the Georgetown area of DC is indeed rather small, but nice. I haven't been there I'm a decade or so because I hate traffic, parking, etc.
REI also has a store in Columbia MD, which is just a drive up 95 or 295 from DC. It's pretty big.
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Post by downriver on Feb 1, 2024 19:16:37 GMT -8
as of August 2023 in the USA with two more stores planned to open in MA last fall. 58 stores now. LL Bean plans to expand its brick & mortar business. I’ve never been to one of their stores. Happy Trails, DR DR, Bean is iconic in New England. They were known for phenomenal customer service and endless warranties. That's changed. However, they still attempt to be decent, and their product lines are well made, at least those I've purchased. I have lots, from luggage to daypacks to fleece lined jackets, to high tech GTX raingear, to even an Opinel #8 with a handle made from a buried maple log from Moosewood Lake. They also use to be a great, family oriented company to work for. I know several people that worked their entire careers for them. That I hear has changed, too, though employees seem pretty happy. One of the objects and plans on many people's vacation on the Maine Coast was a trip to the flagship store in Freeport, Maine. I never used REI for anything , except some supplies like gas cannisters on trips to the west. I had EMS and Bean that covered clothing and technical gear. Now the market is diluted and the bottom line falls quickly away, quality and service suffer. I relied on Bean and EMS brands to be up to snuff, and they were. Thankfully, my storage areas are full and new gear is beyond the point of redundancy. Doesn't mean I won't give the new REI a discerning walk through...lol. Yes, I use to be a big fan of LL Bean in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Loved their Polartec fleece jackets. Still have a few that are nearly 30 years old. Do these qualify as “retro” gear yet? Lol. Bean had an excellent return policy. It was on par with Patagonia; too bad they stopped it. REI had an excellent return policy, too. Sad both went away. For a very short time I was an independent field tester for LL Bean. I also use to get an incredible “pro deal” with Bean; it was like 40 or 50% off for belonging to a professional organization. I use to get excellent deals at gear & apparel companies. The last two Bean jackets I had were subpar. Really don’t like their fleece offerings anymore. My favorite fleece jacket of all time was my Bean Polartec Mountain Pile Fleece jacket I bought in 1995. Great fleece jacket. Still looks and feels great. I gave it to my niece as a wedding gift in 2023. She loves it. Bean use to have several different catalogs. I always enjoyed their “outdoors” catalog. I had Bean’s Mt. Washington backpack. Do you remember it? They use to advertise it in Backpacker Magazine in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Happy Trails, DR |
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Feb 1, 2024 20:19:15 GMT -8
DR, Bean is iconic in New England. They were known for phenomenal customer service and endless warranties. That's changed. However, they still attempt to be decent, and their product lines are well made, at least those I've purchased. I have lots, from luggage to daypacks to fleece lined jackets, to high tech GTX raingear, to even an Opinel #8 with a handle made from a buried maple log from Moosewood Lake. They also use to be a great, family oriented company to work for. I know several people that worked their entire careers for them. That I hear has changed, too, though employees seem pretty happy. One of the objects and plans on many people's vacation on the Maine Coast was a trip to the flagship store in Freeport, Maine. I never used REI for anything , except some supplies like gas cannisters on trips to the west. I had EMS and Bean that covered clothing and technical gear. Now the market is diluted and the bottom line falls quickly away, quality and service suffer. I relied on Bean and EMS brands to be up to snuff, and they were. Thankfully, my storage areas are full and new gear is beyond the point of redundancy. Doesn't mean I won't give the new REI a discerning walk through...lol. Yes, I use to be a big fan of LL Bean in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Loved their Polartec fleece jackets. Still have a few that are nearly 30 years old. Do these qualify as “retro” gear yet? Lol. Bean had an excellent return policy. It was on par with Patagonia; too bad they stopped it. REI had an excellent return policy, too. Sad both went away. For a very short time I was an independent field tester for LL Bean. I also use to get an incredible “pro deal” with Bean; it was like 40 or 50% off for belonging to a professional organization. I use to get excellent deals at gear & apparel companies. The last two Bean jackets I had were subpar. Really don’t like their fleece offerings anymore. My favorite fleece jacket of all time was my Bean Polartec Mountain Pile Fleece jacket I bought in 1995. Great fleece jacket. Still looks and fills great. I gave it to my niece as a wedding gift in 2023. She loves it. Bean use to have several different catalogs. I always enjoyed their “outdoors” catalog. I had Bean’s Mt. Washington backpack. Do you remember it? They use to advertise it in Backpacker Magazine in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Happy Trails, DR
One of my all-time favorite pieces of gear is an LL Bean wool shirt-jac with a Gore Windstopper lining. It's an outstanding everyday, all-weather layering garment that I can put over a down vest or under a long rain shell. (I also really like it over a sweater or my old Woolrich hunting vest).
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Post by downriver on Feb 2, 2024 0:44:44 GMT -8
I think you like shirt-jacs even more than me, Bigload…! And that’s saying a lot. Hope retirement is treating you well! Enjoying your 4Runner?
Regards,
DR
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Feb 2, 2024 8:44:18 GMT -8
I think you like shirt-jacs even more than me, Bigload…! And that’s saying a lot. Hope retirement is treating you well! Enjoying your 4Runner? Regards, DR I'm certainly enjoying reduced encumberment and preparing for a month on road in the spring. I'll take maximum advantage of the sleeping space in back. |
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