Pros
REI does a great job recruiting employees who share company values, which creates a strong sense of community where most really care about doing a good job. It is a fun workplace where many employees form tight friendships, making it a hard place to leave. The coop model is a real plus because leaders can make decisions with the long-term health of the company in mind. Most benefits programs are strong.
Cons
At times it can take forever to get a change off the ground, even if many people believe it needs to happen. The company lacks the appropriate level of planning and project management functions, which means large projects can experience many stops and starts and often not cross the finish line. Too many individual heroics are required to get things done. With many recent leadership changes at the top, too many lower level leaders are scrambling to please those above at the expense of thinking for themselves, which is increasing the political environment and having a negative impact on employees reporting to them. You will encounter fabulous leaders in some areas and mediocre ones in others, and there is not a strong enough focus on training and evaluating leaders to ensure consistency.