REI to close Portland store after record-breaking number of thefts, break-ins

[Kamaji]

REI to close Portland store after record-breaking number of thefts, break-ins

By Allie Griffin
April 18, 2023

Adventure gear company REI plans to close its Portland store early next year after experiencing a record-breaking number of thefts and break-ins, according to a report.

REI said its store in Portland’s Pearl District “had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite actions to provide extra security” in an internal email obtained by the Seattle Times.

The company also said in the email that it had “outgrown” the location, which opened in 2004, and that the building needed “significant investment” to mitigate undisclosed issues.

REI spokesperson Megan Behrbaum told the local paper that the company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased security measures for the Portland store last year, but still suffered numerous break-ins, including a shocking Black Friday incident in which a car plowed through the store’s glass doors.

The frightening episode was the store’s third break-in in just a week, the Seattle Times reported.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/04/18/rei-to-close-portland-store-after-record-breaking-number-of-thefts-break-ins/

[Kamaji]

Well, Portlanders did vote for this result, so fair's fair.

[roamer_1]

That one has to hurt.

REI is a Seattle company and a PacNW mainstay in outdoor gear. 2004 is getting close to their big original expansion. That's a pretty old REI.

[DefiantMassRINO]

For those not old enough to remember the 1970s, here's a slideshow gallery of Portland's, San Franciso's, and Chicago's futures:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/1970s-new-york-photos

[SZonian]

Was a 20 year member of REI until they decided they were going to blackmail a parent company over the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Haven't darkened their doors since...

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Update: REI statement on relationship with Vista Outdoor

Jul 8, 2019

Today, we notified our merchants that we will resume orders with Giro, Bell, CamelBak, Blackburn and Camp Chef on the news that their parent company, Vista Outdoor, has secured a buyer for Savage Arms.

REI orders of Vista-owned brands have been on hold since March 2018. At that time, Vista Outdoor chose not to engage in the national conversation about common-sens e gun safety solutions that followed the tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

REI does not sell guns or ammunition, and does not oppose hunting or the Second Amendment, but we believe companies that profit directly from the sale of guns have a civic responsibility to engage in the national discussion about gun safety, as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and others have done.

We understand and respect that our members and employees enjoy life outside in many ways — including hunting.