Cannondale honored as REI’s all-around vendor partner of 2019

Each day, REI Co-op offers customers the best outdoor gear and apparel from thousands of established and up-and-coming outdoor brands. This week, REI Co-op recognized 2019 vendor partners who help make a significant impact to the co-op’s mission to awaken a lifelong love of the outdoors in everyone with its Vendor Partner of the Year awards.  

REI Vendor Partner of the Year Awards 

Bicycle manufacturer Cannondale, a premium brand of Dorel Industries, Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A), headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, received the co-op’s overall Vendor Partner of the Year award. 

“Cannondale is an extraordinary partner with a shared vision and deep commitment to get more people out riding,” said Chris Speyer, REI vice president, merchandising. “From product design to inventory flow, inspiring consumer events to staff expertise, or marketing collaborations to store experiences, they invest for our mutual success and always with customers in mind. We are grateful for their innovative and passionate approach to our partnership.” 

The following vendors collected 2019 divisional honors for the year:  

• Action sports: Carve Designs (Sausalito, California) continually went above and beyond to bring a fresh differentiated active apparel assortment to REI’s customers. In the past few years, Carve Designs has supported showcasing body diversity by delivering sample sets in full size runs, pushed into sustainability practices (e.g., working toward the elimination of polybag use), and continued partnership across every level of the co-op. 
• Camp: Exped (US HQ: Tacoma, Washington) delivered on gear innovation, brought relevant products and features to co-op customers. Exped continually backed this up with strong customer service, lifetime repairs and warranties, and solid support across REI’s channels.  
• Apparel: Arc’teryx (North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) demonstrated an outstanding level of consistency in brand, product, partnership, and purpose. They consistently excelled in meeting the co-op’s requirements and exceeded our customer’s high standards for quality and sustainability practices.  
• Footwear and basics: Salomon (Ogden, Utah) continued to introduce innovative, functional, and beautiful footwear products that helped inspire active outdoors participation for both core outdoor enthusiasts and people new to outdoor activities.  

The Vendor Partner of the Year awards program was established by REI in 1993. Each year, companies are nominated by the co-op’s four merchandising divisions – action sports, camp, apparel, and footwear and basics – for partnering with REI to meet customer needs, raise the bar for product quality and drive sustainable business practices. 

About the REI Co-op

REI is a specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. The nation’s largest consumer co-op, REI is a growing community of more than 19 million members who expect and love the best quality gear, inspiring expert classes and trips, and outstanding customer service. REI has 161 stores in 39 states and the District of Columbia. If you can’t visit a store, you can shop at REI.com, REI Outlet or the REI shopping app. REI isn’t just about gear. Adventurers can take the trip of a lifetime with REI’s active adventure travel company, a global leader that runs more than 250 itineraries across all continents. In every community where REI has a presence, professionally trained instructors share their expertise by hosting beginner-to advanced-level classes and workshops about a wide range of activities. To build on the infrastructure that makes life outside possible, REI invests millions annually in hundreds of local and national nonprofits that create access to—and steward—the outdoor places that inspire us all.