A new overhead lighting system shines down brightly on construction workers whirring by on scissor lifts and finishing off drywall in an otherwise empty building.
The space previously housed Bed Bath and Beyond. Now the 25,000 square foot retail space is being prepared for a new REI Co-op store that will give residents more options for camping equipment, hiking gear and bicycles.
The new retailer could have an effect on the town’s already-existing small businesses offering the same type of goods. Several downtown store owners have mixed feelings about that possibility.
Mountain Sports sells a lot of the same equipment that REI will.
Store owner Bruce Hart has known about the incoming REI for about a year. He says it is a concern but he also sees it as a decision REI has the right to make.
“It's a reality,” Hart said. “We all know that it's going to happen and it's just learning how to work with it. You don't view them as an enemy or anything. It's just part of free enterprise.”
Mountain Sports is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Hart has managed the business for 48 of those years. After that much time, challenges are nothing new. He cites the inflation and COVID-19 pandemic as some examples.
“We got through that okay,” Hart said. “There's never any certainties in life, that's for sure. It's just working hard and hopefully you get through it.”
Greg Madonia, an economics professor at Chico State, said one challenge could be REI cutting into the sales of many locally-owned stores.
“The market is only so big and the more businesses that are in that market, obviously, they're splitting up more and more from the same size pie, effectively,” Madonia said.
But there’s a chance things could be fine for smaller retailers once REI moves in. Madonia said REI’s newfound presence in the area could spark more general interest in outdoor activities and widen the clientele available for businesses specializing in recreation.
But Madonia’s optimism comes with a healthy dose of caution since Chico’s residents already tend to be interested in these activities. Still, he said there are ways for businesses to pull through.
“These specialty stores, they might not be able to do the same thing that they've been doing for the last 10 years but maybe they can change gears and stay afloat,” Madonia said.
Changing gears is exactly what one downtown bike shop owner has been doing at his store. Literally and figuratively.
Dax Downey owns Greenline Cycles that has been in business for more than 30 years.
REI also offers bicycles and equipment which could be a challenge to other bike shops like Greenline.
“I think my first reflex just being a small business is to be intimidated and maybe kind of feel slighted by it as a threat to my business,” Downey said.
But Greenline Cycles is looking at new ways to keep moving forward.
Downey said he’s been mindful of changing consumer habits even before learning about REI. Instead of focusing only on selling bicycles, his shop has been refining the service side of cycling – like repairs and assembly.
“It's always been a revenue stream,” Downey said. “But we're taking it really serious and marketing it and pushing it – trying to get really efficient and good at it on our end. We're seeing that paying off.”
REI told NSPR the new location will also have a bike and ski shop with a “full range of services,” which could still present broader competition.
Other store owners, like Kristina Smith at Fleet Feet, see the challenges from the incoming REI as a major concern. Smith has owned the Chico Fleet Feet location for about 10 years. She said she’s relying on her store’s customer service and community involvement to compete.
“I have been prepping the staff,” Smith said. “I feel like our customer service has always been top-notch for our industry and I'm just reiterating with the staff that this is the time where we really need to shine.”
REI told NSPR it has a real estate team that considers several factors before opening a store in a new location.
Things like “member presence in a region who already engage with us at other stores and REI.com, proximity to other REI stores, outdoor culture and proximity to natural places within the community and destinations,” REI representative Megan Behrbaum wrote in an email.
The company said there are also more than 36,000 lifetime REI Co-op members in the Chico-Redding area.
For Smith, the hope is that consumers will continue shopping at businesses like Fleet Feet after REI opens its doors this summer.
“Our prices are the same. People think shopping local, the prices are higher. Our vendors set our prices for us so that we are not competing against big-box stores price wise,” Smith said.
Her advice for neighboring retail stores? Hang in there.
“Because I think as long as you're providing that customer service and that knowledge and your staff is top quality, we will shine,” she said.
Mountain Sports prides itself on its customer service and expertise. Hart said that despite the presence of a big box store, there will always be people in the region who want to continue shopping locally.
“People come here and they feel a real warmth of shopping and I think all the successful businesses downtown have created that same similar warmth,” Hart said. “That's why we're still in business.”
REI will open in Chico in early summer
