MEC in reecievership

[LeeLau]

Well at least they are folding and getting snatched up by vulture capitalists instead of getting a tax payer funded bailout, then folding.

Agreed

[wicked_sick]

MEC can get fucked. They put so many good mom and pop outdoor stores out of business with their business model, favorable tax laws and shitty home branded products.

Good riddance (sucks for staffers though)

Which ones?

[apex dave]

Oh the horror!!! Where will white, upper-middle class, suburban Canadians get their Arc'teryx gear now!?

From Last Hunt

[danmelon]

Oh the horror!!! Where will white, upper-middle class, suburban Canadians get their Arc'teryx gear now!?

I thought that that demographic no longer shopped at MEC based on their latest marketing campaigns.

[shirk]

Still no real details yet?

I have a feeling the vulture caps have just picked up MEC's real estate holdings for pennies on the dollar.

MEC will still be a co-op owned by the members...but the board has sold off it's assets to pay down their dept. MEC then rents back their locations from the vulture cap. Operating costs will go up and they'll reduce their locations and size.

[Ted Striker]

I have a feeling the vulture caps have just picked up MEC's real estate holdings for pennies on the dollar.

MEC will still be a co-op owned by the members...but the board has sold off it's assets to pay down their dept. MEC then rents back their locations from the vulture cap. Operating costs will go up and they'll reduce their locations and size.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...quipment-co-op

[shirk]

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...quipment-co-op

Yep same feels there. It's going into the chop shop to part it out.

[Shorty_J]

Still no real details yet?

I have a feeling the vulture caps have just picked up MEC's real estate holdings for pennies on the dollar.

MEC will still be a co-op owned by the members...but the board has sold off it's assets to pay down their dept. MEC then rents back their locations from the vulture cap. Operating costs will go up and they'll reduce their locations and size.

No longer to be a member owned cooperative...

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://globalnews.ca/news/7334603/mountain-equipment-coop-sold/__;!!FZtbJVnXfw!lq6y4lOcwlp5xjh6ZLV0YjIroXMWXAHOZ1 aY0eaaJ-5G3LudCMV0nsJuqpVOsj52PiI$

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[xyz]

Yep same feels there. It's going into the chop shop to part it out.

That’s SOP for the vulture caps.

MEC’s demise is overall bad for us consumers. Less competition. Escape Route in Whistler would anchor their prices on skis and boots to MEC’s. Now they can do whatever and we lose the MEC return policy.

[t.odd]

That’s SOP for the vulture caps.

MEC’s demise is overall bad for us consumers. Less competition. Escape Route in Whistler would anchor their prices on skis and boots to MEC’s. Now they can do whatever and we lose the MEC return policy.

to be fair, VPO is actually a pretty solid competitor to Escape Route, they've come through on a lot of gear I needed this summer for a bunch of things, maps, backpacking stuff, new boots, that escape route didn't come close to being able to match in terms of variety of selection and in-stock. They've unexpectedly become my go to.

[TrueNorth]

Just realized I’m still holding a big MEC gift card. I wonder if I should hurry up and spend it while I still can, or if the new owners will honour it? Maybe there will be a big inventory reduction sale coming up, or maybe not?

[waxman]

Just realized I’m still holding a big MEC gift card. I wonder if I should hurry up and spend it while I still can, or if the new owners will honour it? Maybe there will be a big inventory reduction sale coming up, or maybe not?

Inventory reduction? Have you been in any of their stores? MEC-many empty compartments

[XXX-er]

I used to order at least 50$ worth of stuff for the free shipping and then maybe every year or 2 return whatever I didnt want when i was near a store but I really havent bought much lately

none of it really speaks to me anymore and besides i seem to have evenrything

[yeahman]

Negligent? What brick and mortar retail isn't on the brink of bankruptcy right now.

Target. Walmart. Costco. REI. Sure they have an online presence, but so did MEC.

[altasnob]

REI (closest comparison) just scrapped plans of building a new headquarters in Bellevue and instead sold the property to Facebook. REI now plans smaller decentralized offices around the Seattle area. But ya, REI seems to be doing alright (seems mainly due to focus on online). Brooks Brothers, J Crew, JC Penny, Roots USA, Lucky Brand, Pier 1, Sur La Table all have gone bankrupt during the pandemic. Sure the big guys are making out well but I wouldn't want to be in brick and mortar apparel retail right now.

[1000-oaks]

I cashed my "shares" out 2 years ago when they got all SJW on Camelbak for being owned by the same company that makes ammo/guns.

REI and Dicks put themselves on a lot of personal boycott lists with that stunt.

[xyz]

REI and Dicks put themselves on a lot of personal boycott lists with that stunt.

Go woke, go broke. I boycott any virtue signalling company. Now I don’t have to go broke buying a Yeti!

[kalisto]

Given the amount of people buying outdoor stuff during this whole covid thing, no way you can compare MEC to all those other retailers. They have been going downhill for a while, this was just the final nail in the coffin.

[Dr. Crank]

Go woke, go broke. I boycott any virtue signalling company. Now I don’t have to go broke buying a Yeti!

You must be referring to this? Hard to keep up with all the corporate apologies lately

https://www.bikemag.com/news/petitio...its-marketing/

[ex-powderbroker]

Go woke, go broke. I boycott any virtue signalling company. Now I don’t have to go broke buying a Yeti!

yeah, doing the right thing is always a beta move.

grab life by the pussy and so forth

[1000-oaks]

You must be referring to this? Hard to keep up with all the corporate apologies lately

It was a convoluted mix of anger, rumor, and damage control (and has absolutely nothing to do with MEC).
One story: https://www.nraila.org/articles/2018...tement-on-yeti
Another story: https://www.outsideonline.com/230018...t-you-think-it

A completely polarized incident, like everything else these days, sadly.

Back to MEC.

[TrueNorth]

Given the amount of people buying outdoor stuff during this whole covid thing, no way you can compare MEC to all those other retailers. They have been going downhill for a while, this was just the final nail in the coffin.

At least 3 major outdoor gear retailers in Canada have gone into some form of bankruptcy/receivership this year: La Cordee, Sail/Sportium, and now MEC. Combined, those 3 had 44 store locations, plus e-commerce operations, and must account for a pretty large percentage of the Canadian market. I don’t know the full stories, but it must be a tough business.

[concretejungle]

especially when they keep hiring dufuses from Best Buy and other mass market box stores instead of the outdoor industry, of course the way they were going they probably should have been hiring commercial real estate experts

There are plenty of doofuses in the outdoor industry available to hire.

[dunfree]

Inventory reduction? Have you been in any of their stores? MEC-many empty compartments

that isn’t confined to MEC similar issues with a couple other Canadian retailers (not outdoors) ime.

[XXX-er]

MEC has been un-impressing their base for decades so when it all comes crashing down its fuel for the I-told-you-so ism