Recreational Equipment Inc.’s chief executive underscored the outdoor retailer’s focus on “sustainable profitability” with the release of its 2022 financial results Wednesday.
REI recorded net sales of $3.85 billion last year, up from the $3.74 billion it generated in 2021.
The retailer swung to a $164.71 million loss in 2022, compared to net income of $97.66 million in the prior year.
“We posted a record $3.85 billion in revenue in 2022, coming off an impressive year for both revenue and profit growth in 2021,” President and CEO Eric Artz said in a public letter recapping the year that was also released Wednesday. “Financially, 2022 was a year of significant investment for the co-op – some planned as we entered the year, while other investments were made as a result of changing market conditions and in service to our people and values.”
REI operates as a co-op, with 21.5 million members, who the retailer said received $223.7 million in member rewards last year.
REI, which operates 181 stores, opened five doors in 2022. That included one location that brought the retailer to Nebraska for the first time. So far this year, it has opened a store in Athens, Georgia, in February and announced plans to open a store in Sarasota, Florida, this fall.
Earlier this year, the company informed employees of job cuts at its headquarters, amounting to 167 positions or about 8% of the corporate staff. The headquarters office staff represents less than 1% of the company-wide headcount.
Artz, at the time of the layoffs, cited “increasing uncertainty” as one of the reasons for the restructuring as the company focuses on what he described as the “most critical investments and areas of work to best serve our members and grow the co-op over the long term.”
Kari Hamanaka can be reached at kari@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
