Wally Smith Quotations

We have a sabbatical program, which is fairly unusual throughout industry, but I think really unusual in the retail business where people who have been with us for 15 years begin to take a month off, and then up to two months off with longevity to get out and enjoy time away from work.

We've got 5,500 of the best outdoor-oriented recreation folks and business people to be found in the United States. Top-notch people who have made there avocation their vocation.

We just put an awful lot of taxes on a gallon of gas in New York.

The toughest thing is that, you know, we're a little bit lean on our marketing dollars, and we're pressed on our expense dollars across the board in order to run the business, so we've become a little bit of the world's best-kept secret.

It's because of our tax structure, mostly. Motorists in New York State are paying some of the highest taxes in the country on fuels.

The big difference is what happens with the profits that we generate through the year, and at the end of the year the profitability goes back to our members in the form of a patron's rebate.

It's inspiring, and it's a fun place to be, and it's a very nice retail environment.

In 1938, Lloyd Anderson and some of his climbing buddies here in the Northwest were hard-pressed to find ice axes that met their quality needs and would perform well for them in the field. And so, they pooled their money and sent off to Europe for a purchase of ice axes, and from that informal buying-club beginning sprang REI.