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MEC no longer in our hands

Weinie

Army.ca Veteran
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OK. For all of us that love this store, we will see what changes occur:


https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/other/mountain-equipment-co-op-sold-to-private-u-s-investment-firm/ar-BB192rhy?ocid=msedgdhp
 
Maybe they will suddenly remember that they are an outdoor retail store and not an arm of the Green Party of Canada...
 
SeaKingTacco said:
Maybe they will suddenly remember that they are an outdoor retail store and not an arm of the Green Party of Canada...

Bingo.

They lost me, and most other non-mall oriented hikers, when they ditched the mountain logo for the Black Box, brought in bikes and yoga mats, and stopped offering a good selection of decently priced, durable, mountaineering gear and clothes.

MEC, meet Karma :)
 
I thought they were really on to something with virtue signalling about MEC members in the outdoors being too rich and white.
 
SeaKingTacco said:
Maybe they will suddenly remember that they are an outdoor retail store and not an arm of the Green Party of Canada...

Might be enlightening (and profitable) for them when a "capitalist entity" starts driving their business model, sponsorship, and advertising.
 
daftandbarmy said:
Bingo.

They lost me, and most other non-mall oriented hikers, when they ditched the mountain logo for the Black Box, brought in bikes and yoga mats, and stopped offering a good selection of decently priced, durable, mountaineering gear and clothes.

MEC, meet Karma :)

There is nothing wring with expanding your Product line and customer base, but you better not alienate your core customers while doing so.
 
SeaKingTacco said:
Maybe they will suddenly remember that they are an outdoor retail store and not an arm of the Green Party of Canada...
Never minded the hippies. The athleisure/"lifestyle" junk taking over floor space was bloody annoying.
 
Meh.  I knew they weren’t the real thing because they don’t carry kettlebells.
 
Maybe REI will start making a presence in Canada. I visted one of their stores and it seemed decent. I would prefer to buy Canadian but that is getting hard to do these days. I guess Sails will be my new store.
 
The MEC in Winnipeg - if there still is one - was situated downtown and parking was very limited. It overpriced everything and customer service wasn't great. Maybe if they relocated to a major mall - Polo Park or St Vital - then maybe more people would shop there.
 
Hamish Seggie said:
The MEC in Winnipeg - if there still is one - was situated downtown and parking was very limited. It overpriced everything and customer service wasn't great. Maybe if they relocated to a major mall - Polo Park or St Vital - then maybe more people would shop there.
Still there, has one parking spot but they validate one of the parking garages a couple blocks away.
 
Some of their MEC-brand items I love(d);  the original Ferreta jacket and pants (I have 2 sets) that were Schoeller dryskin fabric, I loved their (discontinued  :eek:rly:) T1 athletic boxer briefs. 

Mostly the past few years, I've popped in for meal pouches, cannister fuel, and the odd this-and-that if I was close and, more often than not, to grab a few tubes of Hydrobloc or replace expired bearspray.  Most of that stuff I can hit Cabellas for now as well and...with much easier access and parking.  I've become a big fan of 'free shipping', though...

 
If you are looking for outdoor equipment/clothing you might want to try Bushcraft Canada: lots of items from Europe/NZ that you don't normally see in Canadian stores.
 
MEC to lay off fewer employees than planned, with 1 store to close, new owners say

Mountain Equipment Co-op says it will be letting go of fewer employees than previously planned, with just one store set to close following its takeover by a U.S. private investment firm.

The Vancouver-based company says 85 per cent of its active workforce will remain on the job once the deal closes, up from a minimum of 75 per cent that Kingswood Capital Management Ltd. previously indicated.

MEC had 1,516 employees as of Sept. 7, including 1,143 who were active mostly in B.C. and Ontario, according to a monitor's report when it was under creditor protection.

The report also said it had 197 workers on leave and 176 on layoff.

Kingswood plans to keep 21 of its 22 stores open, up from its original plan for a minimum of 17 stores.

After struggling with sluggish sales, inventory issues and increasing online competition, MEC filed for creditor protection on Sept. 14 and announced its sale to a Canadian subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Kingswood.

'It's really not the same place'
Even before layoff notices were handed out this week, some MEC employees had already decided to leave the company, including Serena Jackson, who resigned from her position as supply chain coordinator last week.

"I don't want to work for an American private equity fund, to be blunt. Every place of work changes a lot, but I've been there for five years and it's really not the same place anymore," Jackson told CBC.

She said she knows a few other employees who've made the same decision since the sale was announced. Right now, she's feeling sad for her colleagues who've lost their jobs in the middle of a pandemic.

"Some of these folks have been around for 10, 20, even 30 years," Jackson said. "I know of at least one person who was on maternity leave who was let go yesterday."


I'd agree with the 'not the same place anymore' aspect.  I first became a member back in the early 2000s and was a frequent visitor to the Halifax store and have been to the Ottawa and Montreal stores as well (loved the Montreal one!).  I bought a lg Mountain Fountain hydration pack in 2003 or so...still going strong.  Spirit 40 daypack...still going strong.  I've looked at the 'newer' MEC models; they don't seem as rugged.  Maybe it's just me but...
 
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