REI has placed a hold on future orders with Vista Outdoor brands, such as CamelBak and Giro, as a global gun control debate mounts, reports snewsnet.com.
The US cooperative’s decision comes the same day as its counterpart in Canada, Mountain Equipment Co-op, severed ties with several outdoor brands owned by the parent company of a semi-automatic gun and ammunition manufacturer.
Vista Outdoor, a company with many gun and ammo brands in its portfolio, also owns outdoor brands CamelBak, Bell, Bollé, Camp Chef, Jimmy Styks SUPs, and Blackburn. Vista, based in Utah, has yet to comment.
REI in a statement on the company’s website Thursday evening said it has been in active discussions with Vista. The statement, in part, reads:
“REI does not sell guns. We believe that it is the job of companies that manufacture and sell guns and ammunition to work towards common sense solutions that prevent the type of violence that happened in Florida last month. In the last few days, we’ve seen such action from companies like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart and we applaud their leadership…This morning we learned that Vista does not plan to make a public statement that outlines a clear plan of action. As a result, we have decided to place a hold on future orders of products that Vista sells through REI while we assess how Vista proceeds.Companies are showing they can contribute if they are willing to lead. We encourage Vista to do just that.”
Effective immediately, MEC is suspending further orders with Bollé, Bushnell, CamelBak, Camp Chef and Jimmy Styks. Existing inventory will be sold.
