{"id":148224,"date":"2020-03-15T17:10:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T00:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=148224"},"modified":"2022-07-26T21:02:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T04:02:04","slug":"eric-artz-rei-retail-stores-closing-until-march-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/eric-artz-rei-retail-stores-closing-until-march-27","title":{"rendered":"Eric Artz: REI Retail Stores to Temporarily Close Amid COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s note on May 13, 2020:<\/strong> Read the new letter from our CEO explaining our COVID-19 response<\/a>, including new services and store reopenings.<\/em><\/div>\n
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To Our Co-op Community,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the\u00a0<\/span>coronavirus\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread throughout the communities where we all live and work, we have consistently looked for ways to help protect the health and safety of our employees and customers. Since our founding,\u00a0<\/span>REI<\/span>\u00a0has been about doing the right thing for our community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a great deal of careful consideration, we are temporarily closing our 162 retail stores nationwide starting tomorrow, March 16<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0I believe that is the right thing for our community. In fact, I believe it is our duty\u2014to do all we can to help keep one another safe in this un<\/span>precedented moment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That also means all employees from\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0stores<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>will be paid during this temporary closure.\u00a0<\/span>And<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0even with our stores closed, we will be working hard to\u00a0<\/span>do everything we can to continue to\u00a0<\/span>serve our customers. All orders through REI.com will get free shipping while our stores are closed, <\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Co-op Journal<\/span><\/a>\u00a0will feature articles that help people find ways to get outside even\u00a0<\/span>during these challenging times<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve always\u00a0<\/span>been deliberate and transparent when making significant decisions about o<\/span>ur business<\/span>. This is a difficult decision for any business, and I do not make it lightly.\u00a0<\/span>Our decisions are grounded i<\/span>n the belief that there are more important things than business right now\u2014we owe that to one another<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Know that we will continue to work closely with our teams and public health officials throughout the country to understand how to best serve your\u00a0<\/span>needs, and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>serve our customers<\/span>\u00a0as soon as local conditions allow.<\/span>\u00a0We\u2019ll continue to share information with our members and employees as we move forward together into a future that\u2019s hard to predict.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, thank you for your understanding, your patience and, most of all, for being a part of this incredible community. The outdoors remains a vital part of all our lives, especially in moments like this.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Be well and take care of one another<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My very best,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eric Artz<\/span>
\n<\/span>President & CEO, REI Co-op<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Editor\u2019s note on March 24, 2020<\/strong>: This letter was originally published on March 15. After a great deal of careful consideration, we have decided to maintain closure of our 162 retail stores beyond the original March 27 date. We\u2019ve updated the dates in the letter above to reflect this change. While our stores are closed, our website<\/a> remains open for business and we are continuing to waive standard shipping fees on REI.com purchases (exclusions apply).<\/i><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note on May 13, 2020: Read the new letter from our CEO explaining our COVID-19 response, including new services and store reopenings. To Our Co-op Community,\u00a0 As the\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread throughout the communities where we all live and work, we have consistently looked for ways to help protect the health and safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":152163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685,1465],"tags":[1999,682,1995],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-148224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-rei-news","tag-covid-19","tag-rei-news","tag-staff-covid-19-update"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/eric-artz-rei-retail-stores-closing-until-march-27","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Eric Artz: REI Retail Stores to Temporarily Close Amid COVID-19","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/eric-artz-rei-retail-stores-closing-until-march-27","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/eric-artz-rei-retail-stores-closing-until-march-27"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/Warren_092819_0021-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/03\/Warren_092819_0021-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1200"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Bernhard"}],"creator":["Jessica Bernhard"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["covid-19","rei news","staff covid-19 update"],"dateCreated":"2020-03-16T00:10:07Z","datePublished":"2020-03-16T00:10:07Z","dateModified":"2022-07-27T04:02:04Z"},"rendered":"