Backpacker News

Seattle outdoorsy chain REI to open new Dallas-area store in Prosper

REI is opening a new store in Prosper

Courtesy rendering

Specialty outdoor retailer REI Co-op is opening a new store in the Dallas area, in the buzzy 'burb of Prosper. According to a release, the new store will open at The Gates of Prosper at East University Drive/Highway 380 and Preston Road. No street address yet since it's not built, but it will open in 2026.

The 23,848 square-foot store will join four locations already in the Dallas-Worth area — in Dallas, Plano, Southlake, and Fort Worth — and 11 stores in the state. (Another REI will open in College Station in November.)

Prosper is one of two stores that the Seattle chain plans to open in 2026, along with a store in Utah. This follows six stores the chain will open in 2025 in California, New York, Colorado, and Washington. Many openings in the works.

“Cities that will have new stores represent communities that serve as a gateway to some of the country’s most incredible natural places and where our members currently live or destinations where they love to play outside," says REI VP of Stors Mary-Farrell Tarbox in a statement.

Each new REI store will offer apparel and gear for camping, hiking, cycling, run and fitness, climbing, and more.

Each store will also feature a full-service bike shop staffed by certified mechanics to tune and repair mountain, road, hybrid or e-bikes.

REI is the country’s largest consumer co-op but they welcome everyone who wants to shop at REI. However, if you're a co-op member, you get benefits — such as free U.S. standard shipping, bike and snow shop discounts, coupons, discounts, a used gear trade-in program, an annual member reward of 10 percent back on eligible purchases, an extended satisfaction guarantee window of one year, and more.

Meanwhile, they'll be hiring: New REI stores typically hire between 35-45 employees. Outdoor enthusiasts interested in joining the team can learn more and apply online at REI.jobs. Candidates can set a job alert on the co-op’s career site to be notified when positions post.

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E-Commerce News

Amazon Pharmacy to build Dallas facility for same-day delivery meds

Photo by Haley Lawrence on Unsplash

Why are prescription bottles always orange?

Amazon is moving forward on its plans to expand its same-day delivery of prescription drugs with the opening a center in Dallas: Called Amazon Pharmacy, it will be located inside Amazon's Richardson distribution center at 3051 Research Dr., from where it will begin delivering prescriptions in 2025.

Dallas is one of 20 cities where Amazon will open new centers, doubling the number of cities that it already offers same-day delivery prescriptions.

The 24-hour pharmacy will be added onto an existing 180,000-square-foot distribution warehouse; construction on the added pharmacy is set to start in February and is estimated to cost $1.6 million, according to a filing permit.

Currently, it takes an average of two days for customers to get medication delivered where same-day delivery isn't available. Amazon officials said the company aims to help fill care gaps by offering rapid delivery of medications and 24/7 access to a pharmacist so customers can get care within hours.

Amazon says it will reduce delivery time with the pharmacies, which are designed to be automated with robotic arms supervised by licensed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

"Amazon Pharmacy is integrating technology to modernize pharmacy while maintaining high-touch clinical care,” says VP of Amazon Pharmacy John Love in a statement. "We are reimagining health care delivery to meet customers where they are—online, on the go, and at home.”

The pharmacy space has become buzzy, in no small part due to Mark Cuban, who is changing the game with his Cost Plus Pharmacy, an online pharmacy that sells 100 of the most-often prescribed generic prescription drugs at a transparent, fixed-rate markup.

Amazon plans on opening other same-day delivery pharmacies in Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Diego and other cities next year.

"We haven’t announced additional cities and will do so as plans become firm," an Amazon Pharmacy spokesperson told CoStar News. "Timing and details are still being determined, and delivery will be conducted by our standard vehicles."

Last year, Amazon started offering customers in College Station the option of getting their medications from an Amazon Pharmacy in 60 minutes or less by drone delivery. The Amazon Pharmacy same-day delivery service was introduced in New York and Los Angeles in March after launching in cities such as Indianapolis, Miami, Phoenix and Seattle.

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