The Outdoor Industry Faces Challenges. REI’s CEO Mary Beth Laughton Has Hope.

It’s been a turbulent period for the outdoor recreation industry: retail stores have closed, brands have shuttered, and the Trump Administration’s shifting tariff policies have made costs unpredictable. But Mary Beth Laughton, the president and CEO of retail giant REI, is confident that the industry’s culture of innovation, collaboration, and passion will help companies weather the storm and thrive. On Friday, May 30, Laughton addressed a crowd of outdoor industry leaders at the second annual Outside Summit in downtown Denver, Colorado, in a conversation with Luis Benitez, vice president of global government affairs for Lululemon, and the former director of the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation.

Laughton addressed a wide range of topics, from the current threats to public lands, the environment, and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, to the importance of adhering to corporate values. She addressed REI’s own challenges in 2024 and 2025, and shared her vision for the company’s future goals around advocacy and charitable giving. Laughton also shared her perspective on how the outdoor industry can be successful, despite the volatility.

Below are excerpts from key moments of the conversation.

The Current Challenges Facing Outdoor Recreation

It’s a crazy moment right now. I think we all anticipated a certain level of change with the new administration, but the level of turmoil that we’ve all felt in the outdoor industry is something we couldn’t have predicted. Whether it’s attacks on public lands and on basic human rights, or the volatility around tariffs and consumer confidence and the stock market—it’s been a lot. I think about two things in moments of uncertainty like this. One is the need to be agile and flexible. Our team has been running a bunch of different scenarios to make sure we can meet the current climate with agility. We really don’t know how things are going to play out. The other is we need to use our values as a guidepost and a centering point. Some companies I’ve worked with have had clear values, others have not. In times of turmoil, those that don’t have clear values can lose their way and make short-term decisions that are not in the long-term interest of employees or shareholders or customers.

Meeting Current Challenges with Innovation and Urgency

I think not just about what REI can do, but what can we as an industry do to meet the current challenges? I love the words “urgency” and “innovation.” We need to have both in mind right now, because we all need to think about how we can grow the collective pie together. We can’t see the outdoor industry as a zero-sum game. We need to think of ourselves all as partners in an industry. I think of something REI can offer the industry: our 200 stores. We have community spaces in our stores where people can gather and be together. Yes, we have classes in these spaces. But they can also be places where people come together to advocate together and talk together.

Making a Public Apology

I was announced in my role the same week as the presidential inauguration. My first week I learned that REI had signed an outdoor industry letter in support of Douglas Burgum as the new secretary of the interior. I took this decision in and listened to the team’s rationale—it was to make sure we had a seat at the table with the new administration with regards to public lands. I understood the decision, but in the weeks afterward it became clear through actions were at odds with who REI really is. It also became clear what I had to do, and I thought it was important to come in and take responsibility for that decision. Our team focused on the actions we could take. It’s one thing to publicly say something, and another to take actions that reflect values. So we made a public apology. It wasn’t an easy moment for me or for the co-op, but I think we’re stronger for doing it, and I’m proud of us standing by what was right to do in the moment.

How Companies Move Forward after Making a Public Mistake

No company is perfect. REI is not perfect. What is important is that we admit mistakes in the moment. I find it hard to believe that we can maintain a certain level of trust with our employees and our customers if we can’t do that. At the same time as thinking about our mistakes, I think about all of the good that REI does. We make mistakes but we also do so much work that is good, and it’s my job to get the message out of what we’re doing well. We’ve enabled $100 million to go back to the community and partners, and we should feel great about that. So, as important as it is for brands to admit mistakes, it’s also important for them to address moments when they’re doing good things, and to celebrate those.

A New Definition of “Outdoor”

During COVID, a lot of people realized the mental and physical benefits of being outside—things that all of us in this room have known for a while. This became known by a much broader group, and many of them now have a passion for the outdoors. As an industry we need to embrace them and welcome them. At REI we need to be just as relevant for someone climbing a fourteener as for someone who is going to take a hike in their neighborhood park. We need them all to feel welcomed in our industry. That is how we’re going to find growth. We can’t look back on COVID and say “we had this moment when all of these people came into our community but we lost them.” We need to keep the momentum going, and to continue to make these people feel welcome.

Create Products with Inclusive Design

One of the coolest things we’ve done in a few years is our Active Pursuits line. We listened to our members, and asked them, What do you want to see in a product? We heard from our trans and nonbinary members that they felt that REI was not offering enough sizing options. We took that feedback and the design team took it seriously and designed this new apparel line. It was the first non-gendered apparel line we’ve ever had. We even re-invented a sizing chart and came up with this totally new approach to sizing. There have been so many cool things about it. And the 18-34 age group is loving the product.

REI’s Tough Decisions

REI has had to make tough decisions and we have not been immune to what the outdoor industry has felt over the past few years. The highs of the COVID boom, and the strength it brought to the industry, then coming out of that forced the co-op to make tough decisions. We had to make sure inventory was where it needed to be. We had to make sure we could get back to break-even profitability. It was important for us to get bak to that, and now we have a healthy base. I’m really optimistic about where the co-op can go now: we have such strong and unique assets. We have 25 million members—we’re the largest consumer co-op in the nation. We have our Green Vest employees who I believe are our secret sauce. The experience and passion and thoughtfulness they bring to helping people out is a huge asset for us. And we have our 200 stores in the United States, and we can use those as community hubs. We also have our values. When I add all of these assets up, I’m really optimistic, even though we’ve just come through a tough period.

On REI’s Plans for the Next Five Years

I spend a lot of time thinking about where things are headed for REI, and also the outdoor industry. I see so much potential. Trust is important. Leveraging our assets is important. Asking ourselves, How do we have the best curated assortment of products and bring that to life in a way with storytelling that shows it’s more than just a product? We want to continue to elevate our touch points, whether its in-store or online. We want to continue to unleash our employees who are so great at customer service. We have our 25 million members, and we have so much room to continue to engage them and get then invested in our brand.

For our industry, I keep coming back to the theme of the day: collaboration and community. We’re better together than we are apart. That’s how we grow the pie. I hope that in five years, anybody—no matter their background or level of expertise—feels welcome in the outdoor industry because they share a passion for the outdoors. And I hope that we stick to our values, even when it’s hard.