Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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RET AILING TODA Y Ever higher CANADA'S MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT CO-OP IS TARGETING MORE CITIES By Steve Bergsman M In the early 1970s, mountaineering and rock climbing were considered eccen- tric activities in Vancouver, and so equip- ment had to be imported from the U.S. It was this inconvenience that weighed on the minds of a small group of Uni- versity of British Columbia climbers who in 1971 decided to form the cooperative that is called MEC today. Initially, all the participants were volunteers — which is perhaps no surprise, given the nature of the enterprise itself at the beginning: As co-op members sought to provide for their own needs, the stock was some- times housed in an airport hangar, and other times in someone's basement or in a Volkswagen van. But with mountain sports coming into vogue, the co-op began 118 SCT / MAY 2012 selling more rock-climbing, ski moun- taineering and hiking equipment, as well as fabric, buckles and paraphernalia. The additional merchandise and OUNTAIN EQUIPMENT CO-OP has climbed long, and it has climbed high. In 40 years of operation, the Vancouver, British Columbia–based seller of mountaineering gear has grown to comprise 15 stores across Canada today, with plans to open a few more this year. If that does not sound like much, bear in mind that MEC is no ordinary retailer but a cooperative, not structured primarily for profit. On the other hand, many outdoors retailers tend to have aspects of "myth" or "legend" attached to their origins, and in this regard MEC is no different. growing membership made it neces- sary to develop both the format and the storage facilities. The first MEC store opened in Vancouver in 1973. Four years later MEC merged with a similar cooperative called Canadian Mountain Co-op, in Calgary, where it opened its second store, seeing opportunity in joining forces rather than duplicating efforts. "We packed a U-Haul, took our gear to Alberta and opened a store in Calgary," said Gary Faryon, MEC's se- nior manager of operations. To buy something in an MEC store, one must belong to the cooperative. That is no problem, because one can sign up in any of the stores, pay the $5 fee and become a lifetime member. At the company's 20-year mark in 1991,