REI Durango opened its doors to customers Friday, hoping to attract customers looking to gear up and get outside.
The national outdoor equipment retail chain announced it would be building a Durango location in 2023. Now, it is open for business, though that fact has been largely unsung ahead of the stores Aug. 22 grand opening ceremony.
But having a major company like REI in Durango is the source of a conversation over how the town’s independent, locally-owned outdoor stores will manage to compete.
Some people, like Jen Hill who grew up in Durango and visits often from her new home in Flagstaff, Airzona, said she doesn’t think it will effect local businesses, simply due to where the store is located.
“You have that quaint downtown and that local feel, where people will go and really be loyal to their outdoor stores,” Hill said. “I think REI being out here in Bodo is different. It's going to cater different folk who are just like, looking for a quick, easy go in, come out.”
Hill and her partner, Mark Hawthorne, mentioned that when REI came to Flagstaff roughly two decades ago, the local outdoor shops felt a similar concern. But 20 years later, they said, many of those shops are still open alongside REI.
Backcountry Experience marketing manager Brandon Mathis echoed that sentiment. He said REI is a great way for people who do not have much experience in the outdoors to get outfitted for the first time, but specialty shops like Backcountry Experience serve more niche customers.
“A lot of visitors coming into town are familiar with REI,” Mathis said. “A lot of people are discovering the benefits of an outdoor lifestyle. They might work with an REI or choose to go to REI when they want to elevate their interests or their pursuits.”
Mathis said shops like Backcountry Experience, Four Corners River Sports, 2nd Ave Sports and Gardenscwartz are more specialized shops that have built a reputation over decades of business. People who visit those shops come from all over the country looking for specialty services that REI may not be able to offer.
“Someone might come into Backcountry Experience for a custom boot fit, and we might work with them for three or four hours,” Mathis said. “Or we might outfit an expedition which takes us a day or two to work with the group or the people. So we really focus on some of the higher niche kind of products.”
Mathis said the presence of REI will make business a little more competitive in Durango.
“We all work hard to serve our customers, and we’re kind of having to spread the love a little bit thinner now,” Mathis said. “But we serve a high-caliber customer, and we’re good at what we do. So sure, there’s a concern that there might be a little change in business, but I think it’s just going to make us work harder and make us accentuate our strengths.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
