Out with Toys "R" Us, In with REI
Nov. 12th, 2021 08:07 amLast night I wrote about the decline and fall of the Toys "R" Us empire. The building of the store near us stood empty for most of the past few years. When Coronavirus came around last year even the pop-up Halloween store didn't survive. But a few months ago we saw signs of a new tenant moving in: REI.
![REI opening soon in my town [Sep 2021] REI opening soon in my town [Sep 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/802496/802496_original.jpg)
Coincidentally around the time I first saw this "COMING SOON" sign appear in my town, my mother-in-law told me that an REI is opening near them, 2500 miles away— and that it's replacing a Toys "R" Us that had been there for many years, too!
For those who don't know, REI, or Recreational Equipment, Incorporated, is an awesome outdoors goods store. It was started in Seattle in 1938 to import ice axes from Austria for mountaineers who wanted to climb the many snowy peaks in Washington state. Building upon its success it expanded to broader categories of outdoors goods for hiking, camping, backpacking, bicycling, kayaking, and of course climbing. It also expanded to stores in other cities and states, though up through the 1990s it was only on the US west coast.
Hawk and I first encountered an REI when we moved to California in 1996. There was an REI store right in our town, a few miles away! But that store moved to a larger location (and probably cheaper per square foot) in San Jose. We still shopped there, but less often because it was a 30 minute drive. Then a net-new store opened in Mountain View, 5 miles away. It wasn't quite as convenient as the old store but it was better than driving to San Jose.
The picture above is a little misleading.... It's from several weeks ago; the store opened for business Oct. 22. As this store opened the REI in Mountain View store closed down. It's a replacement, not growth. And sadly something's been lost in the translation. We visited the new store last weekend and browsed around. Everything's clean and new inside... but it's too sparse. Though the store is technically 7,000 square feet larger than the previous one in Mountain View it looks no larger inside and clearly has less inventory. I remember shopping at an REI with sparse-looking shelves in another town 2 year ago. Sparse shelves mean they don't carry as many products and they only stock clothes in the most common sizes— which don't fit me. It's like REI is facing some of the same pressures that caused Toys "R" Us to start going downhill years ago.
![REI opening soon in my town [Sep 2021] REI opening soon in my town [Sep 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/802496/802496_original.jpg)
Coincidentally around the time I first saw this "COMING SOON" sign appear in my town, my mother-in-law told me that an REI is opening near them, 2500 miles away— and that it's replacing a Toys "R" Us that had been there for many years, too!
For those who don't know, REI, or Recreational Equipment, Incorporated, is an awesome outdoors goods store. It was started in Seattle in 1938 to import ice axes from Austria for mountaineers who wanted to climb the many snowy peaks in Washington state. Building upon its success it expanded to broader categories of outdoors goods for hiking, camping, backpacking, bicycling, kayaking, and of course climbing. It also expanded to stores in other cities and states, though up through the 1990s it was only on the US west coast.
Hawk and I first encountered an REI when we moved to California in 1996. There was an REI store right in our town, a few miles away! But that store moved to a larger location (and probably cheaper per square foot) in San Jose. We still shopped there, but less often because it was a 30 minute drive. Then a net-new store opened in Mountain View, 5 miles away. It wasn't quite as convenient as the old store but it was better than driving to San Jose.
The picture above is a little misleading.... It's from several weeks ago; the store opened for business Oct. 22. As this store opened the REI in Mountain View store closed down. It's a replacement, not growth. And sadly something's been lost in the translation. We visited the new store last weekend and browsed around. Everything's clean and new inside... but it's too sparse. Though the store is technically 7,000 square feet larger than the previous one in Mountain View it looks no larger inside and clearly has less inventory. I remember shopping at an REI with sparse-looking shelves in another town 2 year ago. Sparse shelves mean they don't carry as many products and they only stock clothes in the most common sizes— which don't fit me. It's like REI is facing some of the same pressures that caused Toys "R" Us to start going downhill years ago.