REI report

[chucK]

Just went into REI today. I needed to buy some cordage. I thought while I was in there I could buy the new Brown Beckey. I wanted to get the 5.5 wonder-fabric cordage (titan? Gemini? whatever). They don't have any! Surprise. Suprise.

 

THEY ARE OUT OF STOCK

 

I asked the guy if it was hard to get, and he said "It's spring. We got a run on climbing stuff." Duh.

 

So anyway, I didn't buy the book either. I'll go to someplace that supports climbing. Like the Mountaineers!

 

Just thought you'd like to know.

 

REI sucks.

[rayborbon]

quote:

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Originally posted by chucK:

I thought while I was in there I could buy the new Brown Beckey.

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Did Beckey go south to Utah and get a tan How does one buy Beckey, He is for sale?

[chucK]

Probably not at REI. They are probably OUT OF STOCK.

[slothrop]

I was looking for the same cordage at REI this past winter and they were also OUT OF STOCK. Musta been a run on climbing gear in November...

[mikeadam]

I've got an old torn Beckey book I will trade for Rachel Babkirk...

[Dru]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikeadam:

I've got an old torn Beckey book I will trade for Rachel Babkirk...

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You can buy a remaindered brown Beckey at Liquidation World for 80% off cover price. They got Nelsons guidebooks there too. Ive never seen rachel there but if i Do i will let you know. You dont mind a slightly heavily used one?

 

[ 04-15-2002, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: Dru ]

[mikeadam]

ok, I'll throw in some old cordelette I took off Pretty Nuts...and some pepperoni sticks from my last trip out...

[Rodchester]

My experience at REI:

 

I worked there part-time for a couple of years.

 

I heard/observed two things regarding the topic of this thread. I cannot say this is fact...but just what I picked up.

 

One was that the "buyers" were rated or graded or compensated on what they sold...so if things sat on the shelve that was not good. Further if they did not sell through an item and it had to be reduced, even worse. (To a certain degree that makes pefect sense). Oddly enough if you sold through an item the buyer MUST have ben able to predict the proper amount of sale. i.e. one hundred biners purchased from BD. One hundred biners sold by end of quarter.

 

However, what this system lacked was the ability to guage in any way manner or form, what the "buyer" could have sold. If the 100 biners sold in a week, certainly they could have sold a shitload more....demand was there but supply was not. But their system simply saw that at the end of the quater, 1000 biners had sold. Good job "buyer" = unhappy climbers.

 

Second thing was that REI views climbing as a loss-leader. Meaning they accept the loss of the department as a lead to other departments. The climbing department has the smallest margin. Margin on a biner is about 25-30% while margin on a TNF coat is 50%. Additionally, the climbing department has the greatest "shrink." Before moving the biners behind the counter, shrink was at 50% on biners. That is a huge loss on a small margin item.

 

REI knows it could sell more climbing hardware, but doesn't want to because it would be too great of a loss. Instead they use their capital to purchase more softgoods and sell them at a greater margin.

 

However, they are in the position that if they abondon climbing hardware, they abandon climbers. Thus thier economic base, or core, disapears. And then they end up like Eddie Bauer.

 

As I stated above, in an academic sense, it is founded in logic. For me and you it sucks.

 

More and more I steer towards the little guys, Second Bounce and Nelson's shop, for my hardware.

 

I'm not saying REI is the big evil giant boogey man of the industry. But as they alienate me more and more, I gravitate towards the shops that welcome me, that have cordage in stock, that don't view me as a loss-leader.

[willstrickland]

Rod, you're a loss leader? Here I was thinking you were a choss leader...

 

Certainly makes sense from a logic/retail standpoint. I wonder if they take into account, or even think about the "fashion" issue in hardware? EX: TNF/Marmot/etc put out new colors or add a zipper or something every year, consequently they blow-out the old models and that margin goes all to hell.

 

Climbing hardwear, and even some soft goods like cordage and webbing, doesn't change too much. Granted, things like ice tools change fairly often, but what I see as the core...cams, nuts, biners, ropes, harnesses, shoes, belay devices...those stay more or less the same. At least the changes are more on a 5 year basis rather than annually. Seems that the stability would make up for the lower margin.

[Retrosaurus]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikeadam:

I've got an old torn Beckey book I will trade for Rachel Babkirk...

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Mike,

I've got a very damp, heavily used Rachel Babkirk that I'll trade. She's probably substantially more tore up than your Beckey book though.

[Rodchester]

Will:

 

I am a choss leader!!

 

But seriously. I am not a tax attorney, but I know there are tax concerns/consequences regarding keeping a product through a tax cycle. So if REI buys 100,000 biners and only sells half by the end of the tax cycle they have to pay tax on the remaining biners.

 

Granted if they later sell the biners they could recoup the tax, but if they sell them at a lower cost they will have to do some accounting gymnastics to recoup. Also, if you shell out the money for tax that gives you less to buy TNF parkas to sell at the higher margin. Thus the old expression, time is money.

 

Anyway, just my .25 cents worth

[mikeadam]

Mitch, will I get a substantial dividend after this transaction? What is the return policy? Are we talking post 11th grade shape, or post frat party condition here?

[Retrosaurus]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikeadam:

Mitch, will I get a substantial dividend after this transaction? What is the return policy? Are we talking post 11th grade shape, or post frat party condition here?

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Let's just say, if some of the pages in your Beckey guide are stuck together, it's probably a fair trade.