REI cuts off key supplier over refusal to take action on guns

Nathan Bomey | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Flood of emotions for Stoneman Douglas mothers The road to recovery is only beginning for students, teachers and parents in Parkland, Florida. Many are re-living the horror of what happened at Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day. (Mar. 1)

Outdoor gear retailer REI is cutting off one of its key suppliers until the company "outlines a clear plan of action" on the weapons it makes.

The move thrusts Vista Outdoor into the spotlight amid growing pressure on businesses to combat gun violence. The supplier in 2015 and 2016 acquired several brands carried at REI, including Giro, Bell, Camelbak, Camp Chef and Blackburn.

Although REI doesn't carry guns, Vista's Westfield, Mass.-based Savage Arms brand makes assault-style rifles and other weapons for other sellers. Consumer opposition to Vista products has been building on social media, where some people have called for a boycott.

REI's decision comes after several other national retailers also took action on guns earlier this week after a 19-year-old armed with an assault-style rile killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school on Feb. 14.

REI, known officially as Recreation Equipment Inc., said it had "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," REI said in a statement. "Companies are showing they can contribute if they are willing to lead. We encourage Vista to do just that."

A Vista spokesperson was not immediately available to comment Friday morning.

L.L. Bean became the latest Thursday when it said it would raise the minimum age to buy a gun or ammunition to 21.

More: Dick's Sporting Goods bans sales of assault-style weapons after Parkland, Florida school shooting

More: Dick's Sporting Goods pulled assault-style rifles after Sandy Hook, too. It didn't last.

More: Walmart bans gun sales to anyone under 21 after Parkland, Florida school shooting

Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart and Kroger's Fred Meyer all raised the minimum age for purchasing guns to 21 earlier this week. Dick's also took a step that the others had already taken in banning sales of assault-style rifles.

REI said "we applaud" Dick's and Walmart for "their leadership" on this issue. REI is a consumer co-op with more than 16 million members and about $2.6 billion in 2016 sales.

"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," REI said.

Other retailers are also coming under pressure.

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, outdoor chains that recently became one company, are also facing scrutiny for their continued sale of assault-style rifles.

The families of nine victims of 2012's Newtown, Conn. school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School sent a letter Thursday to Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris criticizing the company for selling such weapons.

"Do not allow the company you built to be complicit in the next senseless massacre," attorneys Josh Koskoff and Katie Mesner-Hage wrote on behalf of the families. "Reckon with the infinite human potential wasted each time a community buries its children."

Bass Pro Shops representatives were not immediately available for comment Friday morning.

Separately, the maker of Smith & Wesson firearms said Thursday that gun sales plunged in its most recent quarter, and that it has cut manufacturing jobs amid signs of a downturn.

Sales for the third quarter ended Jan. 31 fell nearly 33% to $157.4 million. Net income slid almost 65% to $11.4 million.

But the company, American Outdoor Brands Corp., also signaled that it's not concerned about big-box chains such as Dick's taking action to limit gun sales following the Parkland shooting.

Sales of assault-style rifles by Dick's represented only 0.1% of American Outdoor Brands' overall sales.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.