Yesterday’s big news that Mountain Equipment Co-op was sold to the private U.S. investment firm Kingswood Capital Management came as no big surprise. The past few years at MEC have been marred with bad news from their CEO stepping down, hiring of a new CEO who’s background was specializing in big box stores, posting an 11 million dollar loss, having two MEC stores unionize in B.C., allegations that their yearly board election was rigged… and then having COVID hit causing turmoil with staff and forcing stores to close. Just when sales of outdoor gear were on the rise with Canadians actually spending more time outdoors it looked like it was time to cut losses and make a huge change to save the company. Ooof!

I have such fond memories of Mountain Equipment Co-op. It all began with walking along the creaky wooden floors as a child in the original Toronto store before it moved to King West (and later Queen Street). I was amazed at the outdoorsy atmosphere the store oozed and the numerous racks and shelves of cool gear. Growing up my parents would always take me there every August to get new boots and a backpack for back to school, or to get a piece of select gear for our next camping trip. Gear was expensive back then as it is now, but it taught me the value in quality made goods. I treated everything I had from the store with respect and it all lasted years.

Forget the SEARS wishbook, I can’t even add up all the hours spent over the years flipping through the catalogues!

Flash forward many years and I still felt a connection to MEC. Proud that I had purchased my very own share in the co-op and still purchasing gear that I still use to this very day. I was once playfully called “MEC-Man” by my friend Dan on a camping trip because of all the MEC gear I had. Why would I shop anywhere else? I do believe in shopping local, but for me MEC had the selection, quality and service that made me feel connected to the brand. I even wrote an ode to my MEC Ibex 80 backpack that served me well for many years. When it came time to move to a different one, there was no throwing it out… it was still in amazing condition and I sold it to a new happy owner so that it could continue to experience adventures.

Something changed through, somewhere just before they changed their logo from the iconic mountain to the incredibly generic square. I’ve heard stories that their original logo was so iconic that when Canadians travelled abroad that the mountain was just as associative as wearing a Canadian flag. Talk about brand value.

Their focus shifted from the outdoors to appease more urbanites such as yoga and cycle commuting. The quality of the MEC clothing and camping gear declined while the prices went up. I remember filling out a survey at the grand opening of the North York store on opening day and one of the questions pertained to which ‘outdoor’ activities you partook in. Canoeing wasn’t even listed in the pre-filled out options. Most days the staff seemed to barely care about you being in-store and one time the expertise given by a staff member about PFDs was absolutely laughable.

I hope this whole post doesn’t come across as another disgruntled camper, shaking my fist at a faceless corporation… because in all honesty, I just miss the old days of my co-op. I don’t know what the answer would have been for them to weather the storm all these years and still be successful. I feel like it will be a great business case in schools for years to come. “What became of the great Canadian brand of MEC?”. What came first? The lower attendance at MEC Paddlefests, or the fact that they no longer updated their very own website to promote them. Did Amazon really cut into their sales considering they don’t sell many of the same brands of camping gear? Does selling footwear such as Blundstones really promote getting outside, or were they just looking to add trendy brands in the hopes of sales?

I guess all in all I can’t complain too loudly because camping and canoeing weren’t even one of the core products when the co-op first started back in the early 70’s… and yet loosing this Canadian brand to the U.S. has hit me harder than the loss of other Canadian brands. The co-op aspect of it is already gone, and I foresee stores closing and aspects of the store being sold off until there isn’t much left and they will no longer be “a little different than most outdoor gear stores”. We’ll see what happens with the upcoming regulatory approvals. I don’t expect a phone call from Kingswood Capital Management asking for my input as what to do next, I’m sure it’s all down to the bottom line and returning to profit (or selling everything off). Instead I’ll keep my membership card tucked away with my catalogues and my fond memories (along side a lot of great gear). Thanks to those six founding members who launched a dream for many generations of Canadians to go out and explore the outdoors.

Update: September 18th, 2020 - There is now a Facebook group and Change.org petition in hopes to find a way to save our Co-op.

Update: September 22nd, 2020 - Check out the article from The Walrus describing how they felt that MEC lost touch with their roots.