Kent, Wash.

Kent, Wash.-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) will open its first-ever Kansas store in Overland Park. The 23,500-sq.-ft. store is slated to open in fall 2013. It will feature a bike shop and a seasonal gear rental department. Additional stores are slated to open this fall in San Antonio; Cincinnati; Woodbridge, Va.; and Medford, Ore. Currently, REI operates 123 retail stores in 30 states. SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS DDI's RetailDesignDiva blog is dedicated to retail design issues, opinions and frustrations of the day.Read the Diva's recent rantings. DDI's Retail Design Newswire Sign up

Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) announced that Mark K. Comstock has joined the co-op in the newly created role of VP real estate and store development. Comstock most recently served as VP real estate and facilities for T-Mobile USA.Mark’s leadership responsibilities include new store site acquisition and development, management of REI’s growing companywide portfolio of real estate assets, and facilities management of the co-op’s headquarters in Kent, Wash. The company currently operates 113 stores nationwide. It will open a store in Columbia, Md., in November.

The 71-year-old story of Kent, Wash.-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), which sells camping and hiking equipment through catalogs, stores and the Web to customers who have the option to join its co-op, has taken a deliberate turn into the modern age.