REI Brings Outdoor Gear and Adventures to Bellevue, Wash. in the Fall of 2016

Co-op to relocate Redmond store to better serve members and outdoor community

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Sep 08, 2015, 03:38 ET

SEATTLE, Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Outdoor lovers on the eastside of Puget Sound can visit a new REI location in Bellevue when the Redmond store is relocated in the fall of 2016. REI, the Seattle-based specialty outdoor retailer and nation's largest consumer cooperative, is moving its Redmond location to better inspire, educate and outfit over 126,000 active REI members in the Bellevue area.

REI Bellevue will occupy the second level of the Bellevue Central Shopping Center at the northeast corner of 116^th Avenue NE and NE 4^th Street. The store will feature over 40,000 square feet of space with the top brands of outdoor gear and apparel for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, travel, and seasonal snow and water sports. The store's bike shop will provide cyclists with expert assembly and repair services, and the snow shop will offer a full range of ski and snowboard services.

"The new store in Bellevue will be better equipped to serve co-op members and customers for their outdoor adventures," said Doug Schmidt, REI divisional vice president of Retail. "The larger space will allow us to offer a broader selection of products and programs, and the location will provide more convenient access for outdoor lovers on the Eastside to explore the parks and forests throughout the region."

REI Bellevue will be located just seven miles from the current store in Redmond and will join four additional co-op locations within 20 miles, including Seattle, Issaquah, Tukwila and Alderwood. REI serves over 485,000 active REI members in the Puget Sound area, who pay a one-time $20 fee and receive a share in the company's profits through an annual dividend.

Founded in Seattle in 1938, REI originally opened a store in Bellevue in 1984, marking the second store in Washington and ninth store nationwide. After moving to Redmond in 1998, the co-op will return to Bellevue and continue its tradition of helping people enjoy the outdoors.

Learn a New Activity

As a national leader in outdoor education, REI Outdoor School offers a wide variety of free and low-cost in-store classes, field programs and day outings for cycling, paddling, fitness, hiking and camping, climbing, snow sports, photography and wilderness medicine. REI Bellevue will build on the region's already robust educational programs taught by expert instructors, which included over 19,000 participants in the Puget Sound area last year.

Access to Outdoor Places

In addition to outfitting members for a life outdoors, the co-op also partners with nonprofit organizations to invest in the infrastructure that makes life outside more accessible to the community. REI will invest $5.9 million in over 300 nonprofits across the country to increase access to and steward more than 1,000 outdoor places in 2015.

Locally, REI granted more than $200,000 to 15 organizations in the Puget Sound region, including the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and Washington Trails Association. The co-op invested an additional $68,790 in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Trail as part of the Every Trail Connects stewardship program that shared $600,000 with 10 inspiring trails throughout the country.

Join the REI Team

Candidates interested in joining the REI team at any local store can apply online at REI.com. Employees receive a variety of benefits, including generous product and service discounts, competitive pay and retirement contributions. For 18 consecutive years, REI has been recognized as one of FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For."

About REI

REI is a specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. The nation's largest consumer co-op, REI is a growing community of 5.5 million active members who expect and love the best quality gear, inspiring expert classes and trips, and outstanding customer service. REI has 140 stores in 33 states. If you can't visit a store, you can shop at REI.com, REI.com/outlet or the free REI shopping app. REI isn't just about gear. You can take the trip of a lifetime with REI Adventures, a global leader in active adventure travel that runs 150 custom-designed itineraries on every continent. REI's Outdoor School is run by professionally-trained, expert-instructors who teach beginner- to advanced-level courses about a wide range of activities. To build on the infrastructure that makes life outside possible, REI invests millions annually in hundreds of local and national nonprofits that create access to–and steward–the outdoor places that inspire us.

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SOURCE REI