MEC: the return of the mountain

The mountain is back on the MEC logo. Yoga clothes have taken the edge. The outdoor boutique has decided to return to what it is that characterizes it: clothing and equipment for camping and outdoor sports.

Marie Tison
Press

Those who were bored of the old Mountain Equipment Coop can afford a little hope: the (relatively) new president of MEC, Eric Claus, is a native Montrealer who took his cooperative membership card in 1984.

“We’re bringing MEC back to where it was when it was at its best,” Claus said in an interview with the Central Market store, as the company prepares to unveil a new logo. The silhouette of a mountain will reappear on this one, replacing a simple green square with the letters MEC, “a logo that could have been that of a bank”.

“It sounds like nothing, but it means a lot to a lot of people,” says Claus. It’s like a seal of approval that says: we’re going back to our roots. ”

Bad decisions

A year ago, a US private investment firm, Kingswood Capital Management, acquired the assets of MEC, then under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The company called on Mr. Claus to manage MEC, which was losing its cooperative status.

Then in semi-retirement after a 25-year career at the head of various retail companies in Canada and the United States, Eric Claus has not been asked.

“It was my favorite store in Canada,” he says. My wife and I are truly outdoorsy people. We hike a lot, we spent six months in northern Alaska and the Yukon, we go into the woods more often than normal people. We have a house by the sea, we go kayaking, but I’m not an expert. For me, it was important that someone advises me, that I can count on it. ”

At first, he didn’t understand how MEC could experience such financial problems when the stores and the online store were doing quite well.

Eric Claus agreed to manage the company in particular because he was going to have free rein.

“I’ve seen so many circumstances where private investment firms would buy a business and come up with a model: cut this, cut that, without understanding the business. And often, that killed the raison d’être of the company. ”

Find your way back to the outdoors

The new president does not want to dwell on the difficulties of the old cooperative, if not to say that it had lost its way. She is particularly scattered in more urban sports such as yoga.

MEC is therefore refocusing on activities such as hiking, climbing, camping, kayaking, cycling and off-piste skiing. “We are not a fashion store, we are an outdoor sports store,” he says.

The company is also refocusing its private label, which in the past had been very popular with outdoor enthusiasts. “It represents a large part of our turnover. But it was no longer exciting, it was no longer avant-garde. It was starting to be more fashion than technical. We come back to being technical, but just because it’s technical doesn’t mean it has to be ugly. ”

MEC will also be reintroducing some programs that were popular with employees, such as subsidized excursions and expeditions. Enough to attract outdoor enthusiasts in times of labor shortage.

MEC is no longer a cooperative, but has retained the concept of members. For now, these don’t get any significant benefits, but Eric Claus hopes to change that with the launch of a new loyalty program, likely in 2022.

However, those who find the Central Market store inaccessible, especially by public transport, should not bet on a move. “To be honest, we don’t have any plans for a change. It’s a store that works very well, we have a very good team, a good clientele. A move is so much money. ”

The relocation of the store from Vancouver cost $ 50 million, which contributed to the collapse of the co-op. “And the turnover is about the same! Exclaims Mr. Claus.

On the other hand, there could one day be a question of opening stores in outdoor towns, such as Mont-Tremblant, Whistler or Banff. But for now, these are only internal discussions.

Visit the MEC website