Introducing Peak 28: Ascending Together

REI CEO Mary Beth Laughton sent an extended version of the following note to all employees. 

Team,  

Over the last few months, the REI leadership team and I have been working diligently on a new strategic plan for the co-op. 

We’re introducing our next strategic plan—Peak 28: Ascending Together—to carry forward the best of who we’ve been these past 87 years, while also prioritizing work that drives long-term trust and strengthens the co-op for the future. We’ll have to make tough choices as we do so, to allow us to focus on the efforts that set us up to grow and thrive.  

Our vision for the future is clear: to be the most trusted retailer for people who love the outdoors. Being trusted means that we’ll stand out by being the most reliable place to gear up and get outside.   

To do that we’ll:   

• Build trust by showing up for our customers consistently through the products, experiences and service REI provides.  

• Stay competitive, raise our own bar and challenge ourselves to be not just the best co-op, but also the best retailer.  

• Build emotional connections and loyalty with people who love the outdoors while serving beginners to experts. 

As we do so, we must put our customers at the center of everything we do.  

What we'll achieve

Peak 28 focuses on four strategic pillars to deliver on our objectives:  

• Connected, focused and trailblazing culture: Be a high-performing, purpose-led organization; powered by a culture that is connected, focused and trailblazing. 

• Authentic, culturally leading assortment: Inspire outdoor adventure and discovery for our target customer through a product assortment that builds trust, shapes outdoor culture, fosters emotional connection, and reinforces our co-op values. We’ll deliver products that are in stock, priced right, and trend-right. 

• Elevated service and experience: Inspire target customers to shop at REI for their gear and apparel needs by offering and promoting elevated service and experiences in store and online that clearly differentiate REI from the competition while building trust with every interaction. 

• Reinvented membership: Update our membership program with highly differentiated offerings to deepen engagement with customers, embody our co-op values and foster financial growth. 

By focusing on serving members, we’ll provide the best gear, apparel, products, guidance, personalized experiences and outdoor community that keep customers and members coming back. They’ll look to REI as an outfitter that inspires discovery.  

As we continue to evolve our culture, we hope employees will be inspired to connect more deeply with our business and our purpose, find new ways of working and collaborating and push us to keep innovating. You should feel engaged and recognized for the important work we’re doing. And because our plan is designed to help the co-op get back to growth, if we do this well, we will unlock more growth and development opportunities for our employees. 

What comes next

Making these shifts will not be easy; they’ll require us to fundamentally transform, make difficult choices and evolve the way we work over the next few years.  

We know this plan is ambitious, but we also know it’s possible. And it’s crucial, because this plan is not about getting back to what the co-op used to be. It's about climbing the challenging peak that's in front of us, putting the co-op on more solid footing and building our capabilities to climb the next peaks that are even higher, together.  

-Mary Beth Laughton 
Chief Executive Officer, REI Co-op 

About the REI Co-op