1938
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) created by group of 23 climbers, led by Lloyd Anderson
1944
opens its first retail location - three shelves in the back of a fuel station in downtown Seattle
1953
generating $72,000 a year in sales
hire first full-time employee, Jim Whittaker (later to be first US Everest summiter)
1967
establish THAW, a product-testing subsidiary
1975
second REI store opens in Berkeley, California
1976
third store opened in Jantzen Beach, Oregon
1979
Jim Whittaker, resigns as president, after disputes with Board over growth (he starts "Because It's There" label)
1980
New President, Jerry Horn, an ex-Sears executive, begins series of expansion and acquisition
1981
acquire Mountain Safety Research (MSR)
1982
sales of $72 million, (with annual profits of almost $9 million, dispensed to co-op's 465,000 customer-owners)
1983
mail-order catalog business (five million distributed annually) generates about 25% of REI’s yearly income
Jerry Horn resigns
1987
open first store on the East Coast—Reading, Massachusetts
the co-operative now operates 17 stores
1990
22 stores in 13 states
1991
27 stores across 16 states
1993
acquire tent manufacturer Walrus, Inc.
1994
40 stores in 18 states with $432 million in sales
ranked as the sixth largest US sports apparel retailer
acquire Moss Tent
1996
open new 100,000 square feet flagship store in Seattle
establish online web presence
2000
open store in Japan
2001
sell MSR to Cascade Designs
close Japan store
2004
77 stores, with sales of almost $890 million, and profits of $25 million, with 6,500 employees