Large outdoor retailer REI announced yesterday it would close its location in northwest Portland. The announcement comes amid a spate of similar statements from major downtown businesses and adds to growing concern about what it all means for the future of our city.
While I believe that as our city goes, so goes cycling, I typically wouldn’t share news like this on the Front Page. But REI hits different because the full service bike shop inside the store is an important source of gear and equipment for cycling in a location that many of us can still bike and take transit to. When the first BikePortland reader forwarded me the news yesterday, they wrote, “Regrettable that REI will close the one store that was easily accessible on foot, by bike or public transportation and reducing it to the car-centric locations.”
REI’s store in the Pearl District was on NW Johnson (and 14th), a major east-west cycling street that the City of Portland has established as a key neighborhood greenway in recent years. The store’s closure (due early 2024) also means their large selection of bikes and accessories, as well as their well-reputed and professional bike service and maintenance department will also close.
In a statement about the closure (right), REI said the “safety of our employees” and “increase crime” were partly to blame for their decision. In 2022, the store said they had their highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades. But they also said they have “outgrown this location,” so it’s not clear what has really fueled their decision.
And what’s not in the REI statement is a long-simmering battle with employees over everything from Covid policies, sick days, and efforts by workers to unionize. BikePortland has been contacted by several people who are suspicious about the timing of REI’s announcement and say it might be part of an effort to prevent union momentum.
A workers-rights movement among REI workers started at this same store in 2015 when a group called REI Employees for Real Change began to agitate online. According to one source we’ve heard from, workers at the Pearl District store have been organizing on-and-off for several years.
In January 2022, an opinion columnist for the Washington Post called REI “anti-union” and two months later an REI store in Manhattan voted 88-14 to support a union. And on the same day REI announced their Portland closure plans, news broke that the Eugene location has filed a petition to vote on a union.
Other reasons noted in local reporting include disagreements with their landlord and the fact that REI’s current lease terminates in February 2024.
Regardless of the rationale for their decision, losing the northwest REI location is a blow to Portland. And even without any worker issues, REI is just one of many large retailers that have recently waved goodbye to our city.
Given that REI said they’ll stay open until early next year, perhaps there’s a chance to reconsider if other factors change.
If REI and their bike shop are gone by next year, it will leave us with the following shops nearby: Fat Tire Farm (2714 NW Thurman St), Cycle Portland (180 NW 3rd Ave), and West End Bikes (1111 SW Washington St).