REI Replaces CEO

Tiffany Montgomery for ‘Shop Eat Surf and Outdoor’ (what a name!):

The changes at the outdoor industry’s largest retail account continue as REI Co-op CEO Eric Artz announced Wednesday that he will retire in March.

Mary Beth Laughton, a former REI board director, will join REI as president on February 3 before assuming full CEO responsibilities on March 31, according to a news release.
Laughton has held leadership roles at Nike, Athleta, and Sephora.

Artz lead REI during some of the most tumultuous times, including the pandemic, raising eyebrows in the outdoor community for his seemingly “old school” approach. Bringing a woman back to the top is a great move for the company.

Mary Beth Laughton brings years of experience in “regular corporate retail” with her and will have the work cut out for herself. MEC, Canada’s “version of REI” just put itself up for sale, showing signs that department stores continue to face incredible “Amazon-induced” headwinds as malls are struggling to find a justification to exist.