If you would like more information about what’s happening in Oregon, please FReepmail me. Please send me your name by FReepmail if you want to be on this list.
Posted on 04/17/2023 9:00:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Another day another store going out of business in Portland. Last week I wrote about a coffee shop closing a downtown location because of rising crime and problems with violent street people. Today, outdoor retailer REI announced it was closing its only Portland store because of increased crime and theft in the area.
In a letter to REI members, the company cited concerns over safety and an increase in crime over the last few years as reasons for the closure.
“The safety of our employees, members and customers is always our number one priority. In recent years, Portland has been dealing with increased crime in our neighborhood and beyond. Last year, REI Portland had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite actions to provide extra security,” REI said in its letter.
REI said they are evaluating opportunities for new locations, but do not believe a downtown Portland location is a possibility in the near future.
The store experienced a brazen theft last November when someone drove a car through the front entrance and stole a bunch of merchandise on Black Friday.
Portland police said on Black Friday someone used a car to break the entry door in order to steal clothing before leaving the scene. These brazen crimes seem to be happening more and more in the city…
Blake Schmidt lives in The Pearl and works at REI.
“It’s frustrating, I work here at REI,” Schmidt said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes here in the last couple of years, it’s hard.”
The store has been talking with Mayor Ted Wheeler who seems to be under the impression that police have done a good job coordinating with the store about the theft and break-in problem. In fact, Wheeler’s spokesperson gave a statement saying the city was working to help REI remain in the city: “Mayor Wheeler is committed to further supporting REI to help ensure we retain their business in Portland and help them succeed. All options are on the table as we explore paths forward.” But it sounds like there are no more paths forward. The store will close for good next February when the company’s lease expires.
Just last month Walmart announced it would close its remaining stores in Portland. Nike has also closed one of its stores several months ago and last month asked the city if it could hire off-duty police officers in the store. But the city said no and the store is still closed.
Nike is the epitome of a woke retailer so they don’t want to say out loud that the problem is theft by homeless people who never get prosecuted, but that’s what is happening. And no one wants to admit that all of this stems from defund the police efforts and nightly riots so that inconvenient history almost never gets mentioned by anyone. Here’s a local news report on the REI closure.
China has too many poor people. South Korea is very good.
But Japan is in a class by itself.
REI has been around forever, Portland would have been a good location, until it went increasingly woke.
Democrats destroying everything they touch. Nothing new here.
If you would like more information about what’s happening in Oregon, please FReepmail me. Please send me your name by FReepmail if you want to be on this list.
I have 18 years of Retail Management behind me. In all those years, I’ve encountered exactly ONE shoplifter that I had to deal with and then someone put an assortment of trees and shrubs in an out-of-the-way area of the nursery yard to ‘pick up’ later, after not paying for them, of course. I busted up THAT big Crime Ring too, LOL!
I have never had a break-in or any damage to either of the stores I managed.
I cannot IMAGINE what retailers in these h#ll-holes are dealing with, and consider myself LUCKY. Retail generally sucks as a (second, for me) Career Choice in the first place! ;)
I went twice to Tampa’s REI. The last time it was for a bike for my now 11 year old son (he was born without a foot and we adopted him). I walked in to see what bikes they had and the salesman (or saleswoman, I’m not sure because it looks like it didn’t hit puberty) was commenting on how bikes helps the environment. I asked the person if it was made in the Tampa Bay area, which was no, so I asked him so it was made in China, he said yes, so I asked him about the harm the Chinese is doing to the environment, especially with the flooding of the 3 gorges.He looked at me and shook his head. Then I told him, I’m not here to talk about the planet’s environment, I’m here to buy a bike for my son. I walked out of the store.
😎👍
The ONLY reason I’d ever buy anything from REI would be to buy a REI brand product...which I did previously for an inflatable ground mat. And that was only after having eliminated ALL OTHER possibilities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.