National sporting goods retailer REI announces Rock Row store in Westbrook
Courtesy / Waterstone Properties
Sporting goods retailer REI is the latest business to announce it will open at Rock Row, in Westbrook. REI plans to open in the fall. Main Street runs along the right bottom corner of the rendering, with the Rock Row retail area above it.
Seattle-based sporting goods retailer REI Co-op has announced it will open its first location in Maine this fall, at Westbrook's Rock Row development.
The 24,400-square-foot store will be the 11th in New England for the company, which said it intends to hire 45 employees. The store will be located in the Phase I retail area near the Larrabee Road and Main Street corner or the development.
Overall, Rock Row, developed by Massachusetts-based Waterstone Properties, will have more than a million square feet of retail, office and residential space over 110 acres on the Portland-Westbrook line.
REI will compete with local outdoor retail giant Freeport-based L.L.Bean, as well as Cabela's, which has a store in nearby Scarborough, for its share of the Maine outdoor enthusiast market. Pennsylvania-based Dick's Sporting Goods also has four stores in the state, in Bangor, Augusta, Topsham and South Portland.
With annual sales of over $3 billion, REI is the country's largest consumer co-op, meaning it shares dividends with member-owners. REI has 168 stores, employing more than 15,000, in 39 states and Washington, D.C. There are 47,000 members in Maine and more than 20 million overall, the retailer said in a news release.
“A part of the New England community since we opened our first store in Massachusetts in 1987, we’re thrilled to expand our regional presence with our first store in Maine,” Becky Smith, REI Northeast regional director, said in the release. "We are especially excited to share a passion with the community for spending time outside year-round, from trekking through the snow to paddling along the coast.”
Shoppers don't have to be a member of the co-op, but those who pay a onetime $20 fee to join and spend more than $10 on full-price items get an annual dividend of 10% of what they spend. REI also works with nonprofits to steward and maintain local trails, parks and public land. In 2021, REI has invested more than $150,000 in New England nonprofits, it said in the release. The co-op plans to invest $20,000 in the area outdoor community as it gets closer to opening, it said.
Retail focus on outdoor enthusiasts
The store plans a bike shop and ski and snowboard shop at its Westbrook site. The company also has an adventure travel company that runs more than 100 itineraries across the country, as well as professionally trained instructors who host classes and workshops.
Rock Row developers weren't immediately available for comment on the announcement, but in the past have said that the 400-foot-wide, 300-foot-deep granite quarry at the center of the development will be a focus, with water recreation activities, as well as a boardwalk and entertainment.
“Rock Row’s 400-foot-wide quarry invites adventurous interaction year round, which made REI the absolute perfect outdoor-retail partner for us," Josh Levy, Waterstone principal, told Mainebiz. "For the millions who visit Rock Row each year, we’re the place for those who want to go outside and ‘do.' Families will visit Rock Row to bike and hike our linked trails, sail in our quarry lake and skate in our ice rinks, all of which aligns perfectly with REI’s brand. REI will help bring Rock Row’s amenities to the next level and will be a great and popular attraction to all of greater Portland.”
Rock Row developers have said that they plan outdoor activities, such as rock climbing, adventure courses and possibly a zip line over the quarry. Outdoor events will also be a big part of Rock Row’s programming what they've said will be more than 200 events a year, most of them outdoors, ranging from conventional activities like road races and fitness classes to more unconventional ones, like chain-saw sculpturing, ornate snowman competitions and the like.
“There’s no limit to the natural energy and adventurous spirit that is sparked at Rock Row," Levy said. "There’s no limit to what we can do to bring Maine’s natural beauty to life.”
The development, which is located just off Exits 47 and 48 of the Maine Turnpike, is expected to be a regional draw, not just a local one, and an easy stop for those coming into the state, developers have said.
REI joins retail tenant Market Basket, which opened a 80,000-square-foot store in August that anchors the Phase I retail part of the development. Other announced retail tenants are Firehouse Subs, Big Fin Poke, The Paper Store, Chase bank, Chick-fil-A, a 122-room Element Hotel, a 12-screen Cinemark Theater, Starbucks, a brew and food hall run by Colicchio Consulting.
In March, the developers announced that New England Cancer Center will anchor a two-building, 200,000-square-foot medical office complex on the campus.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments