Mountain Equipment Co-op is a Canadian consumers' cooperative that sells outdoor recreation gear and clothing exclusively to its members. MEC is notable for its commitment to environmental protection and other causes. As a co-op, MEC sells only to customers who hold a lifetime membership, which is technically a share. MEC bills itself as Canada's largest supplier of outdoor equipment. Since its founding in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1971, MEC has expanded across Canada and now operates stores in 20 cities. Once catering to mountaineers and climbers, MEC now targets a broader, more urban clientele and is largely focused on clothing, cycling and yoga supplies. This is evidenced by changes in its marketing imagery, which historically focused on high level climbing and alpinist imagery. MEC has over 5.4 million members in Canada and internationally.
Organization
MEC operates twenty-two retail stores and a "Corporate & Group Sales" store for large orders. Among MEC's largest "corporate" members are the military, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, parks agencies and various search and rescue organizations. MEC stores are often known for their use of eco-friendly design features. The Ottawa and Winnipeg stores were the first and second retail buildings in Canada to comply with Canada's C2000 Green Building Standard, which acknowledges buildings that achieve energy consumption 50% less than similar conventional structures. The co-op designs and produces much of its own gear and also carries products by many other well-known companies. A significant proportion of the company's inventory is manufactured in Asia, with names and addresses of partner-factories available on the Co-op website. Furthermore, directed by the members, MEC fulfils its core purpose:to inspire and enable everyone to lead active outdoor lifestyles. They accomplish this by selling outdoor gear, clothing, and services. MEC's head office and phone/service centre are located in Vancouver. Its distribution centres are located in Brampton, Ontario and Surrey, British Columbia.
Elections
Each year, every member of MEC has the opportunity to vote in the elections for its board of directors, as well as on "special resolutions", through a variety of methods. Before the election period, an information package with platforms of candidates and information on resolutions is distributed. Election results are announced at the annual general meeting.
Board of directors
MEC is governed by a nine-member board of directors. Each year, three directors are elected to three-year terms.
MEC holds its annual general meeting in Vancouver, BC. At this meeting, the Chief Executive Officer and Committee members deliver their annual reports, and answer questions from co-op members. "Other resolutions" may also be brought forward and voted upon. The AGM is typically webcast and members who log in can ask questions. Typically, members recite their member numbers before speaking and these numbers are recorded in the official meeting transcript.
Environmental & social initiatives
MEC has undertaken many initiatives in the name of attempting to fulfil its value of social responsibility, including:
MEC was the first Canadian retailer to publicly disclose its list of factories and their locations, and updates this list annually.
In May 2007 MEC became a bluesign member. MEC has committed to a goal of sourcing 100% Bluesign approved fabrics by 2020. In 2019, 88% of MEC apparel and sleeping bag materials were Bluesign certified. Bluesign is a third party environmental, health and safety standard for the textiles industry.
MEC has a commitment of 100 percent organic cotton for all MEC-branded apparel and sets yearly targets to increase its offering of products made from recycled materials.
In 2007 MEC launched its 'Ethical Sourcing Blog', which examines the relationships between MEC's supply chain and a variety of human rights issues.
MEC promotes a variety of outdoor education opportunities to its membership via an online calendar of events service. Postings must be related to instructional, non-motorized wilderness activities or environmental initiatives.
In December 2007, MEC became the first retailer in Canada to stop selling certain water bottles and food containers containing bisphenol A, a chemical used to make some plastics that has been linked in some studies to increased incidence of cancer and other diseases.
In 2008, MEC eliminated all single-use bags from its stores.
In 2010 MEC launched a new Green Building/Operating initiative called MEC GBS. The intention of the initiative is to ensure MEC retains its leadership in building and operating environmentally friendly facilities. Its Winnipeg, Longueuil, Burlington and North Vancouver stores and Montreal office received LEED Gold ratings. Its Winnipeg, Montreal, and Ottawa stores also comply with C2000 standards.
In 2013 MEC became one of 20 companies globally to have its Responsible Sourcing program accredited by the Fair Labour Association.
In March 2018, MEC announced that it would no longer stock products sold by brands of Vista Outdoor, in response to a petition requesting a boycott due to it being a corporation whose profits are derived from the production of assault weapons, in the wake of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.
Business initiatives
Among MEC's many business initiatives undertaken to better serve its members as well as secure long term financial sustainability are:
In 1997 MEC introduced its popular online gear swap where members can recycle used outdoor gear.
The Fall 2007 launch of MEC’s new larger distribution centre in Surrey BC. This new distribution centre is the first "Green" LEED accredited distribution centre in North America.
In November 2008 MEC opened bicycle repair shops in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal stores. The Winnipeg and Burlington stores opened their repair shops in March 2009., sixteen stores have bike servicing.
In the summer of 2008 MEC developed and launched a series of annual national paddling and biking expositions appropriately named "MEC Paddlefest" and "MEC Bikefest". Billed as the most important date on the paddling or cycling enthusiast calendar these events promote all levels of participation in each activity and although sponsored solely by MEC feature all MEC's major competition in each category. The Toronto MEC Paddlefest already rated as the second largest Paddling festival in North America as rated by participation.
History
In 1971, four members of the University of British Columbia Varsity Outdoor Club, tired of shuttling south to REI in Seattle for decent climbing and wilderness gear, hatched the idea of a co-op when a snowstorm stranded them on Mount Baker in Washington state. Other Varsity Outdoor club members bought into the plan and MEC was born.
Growth
MEC's growth has been methodical over the last 30 years. During Peter Robinson's tenure as CEO from 2000 to 2007, the chain targeted one new store opening per year. With 2019 sales of almost half a billion dollars, MEC continues to look for new ways to fulfil its mission statement of "getting people outdoors". MEC's long-term challenge is to remain relevant to a quickly changing demographic that prefers urban outdoor experiences to those that MEC traditionally caters to. MEC has expanded across Canada as follows:
In 2006 MEC began a national program of outdoor "festivals" in every MEC city across Canada. MEC Paddlefest was the first of these and billed itself as the most important date on the paddlers' calendar. In 2008, MEC Bikefest was launched in 6 cities and is now in every MEC city. MEC launched its third National Festival, MEC Snowfest, in all MEC cities during the winter of 2011.
Expanded assortments
From 2009-2011 MEC expanded its traditional back-country assortments to now include urban outdoor pursuits. Road running, bikes and yoga were successfully introduced and have now become a permanent mainstay of the assortment, and a significant component of MEC's branding focus.
Bikes
In November 2009 MEC began selling MEC-branded bikes in seven stores: Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Burlington, Toronto, Montreal, and Longueuil. Currently MEC offers a total of 58 different models including road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid and urban bikes. Some models feature geometry specific for women or kids. In 2012 MEC also began selling a selection of Ghost Bikes. Ridley bikes were added to the assortment in late 2013 as well as Intense bicycles in early 2017.
Rebranding
On June 18, 2013, Mountain Equipment rebranded their logo, replacing the mountain with a green square containing the text "MEC" in bold. In 2019, Philippe Arrata, the former chief financial officer at Best Buy Canada was appointed as CEO of MEC.
