After 40 years of providing adventure travel, day tours and classes, outdoors retail co-op REI will shut down its Experiences business, which had been losing “millions of dollars every year” and was being subsidized “with profits from other parts of the business,” according to a statement from CEO Eric Artz.
“Experiences served 40,000 customers in 2024 — less than 0.4% of all co-op customers — and costs significantly more to run than it brings in,” wrote Artz. “Even at our peak in 2019 — our best year for Experiences ever — we did not generate a profit.”
The move will eliminate 180 full-time positions and 248 part-time guides, with full-time employees continuing to receive their salaries through March 9, 2025. Shared employees, who split their time between Experiences and the retailer’s stores, will have the opportunity to explore continued employment with their managers. Customers with current Experiences bookings will receive full refunds of the costs paid to REI.
Artz praised the Experiences teams, past and present, for their work over the past four decades: “You have done what has been asked of you, you have worked extremely hard, you have brilliantly educated and created wonderful experiences for nearly 1 million people over those years. Perhaps most importantly, I want you to know from me that you have done nothing wrong when it comes to the choice I am sharing today.”
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REI explored multiple options for keeping the Experiences business alive in order to preserve jobs, Artz added: “We’ve held out as long as possible, but the fact remains that Experiences is an unprofitable business for the co-op, and we must adjust course.”
The retailer will now focus on core areas of its business as well as investing in tools to more effectively manage inventory. REI also will continue to enhance both the online and in-store customer experience with investments in areas including personalization and visual merchandising.
“Our roots are in the gear and apparel we sell and the outdoor moments they enable,” said Artz. “This has been the core of our business for 86 years — and I believe when we stay focused on what we do best, we can and will succeed.”
