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R.I.P. M.E.C.
Sep. 16th, 2020 12:48 pmWhat is the future of co-ops in this country? I hope they HAVE a future!
Since the 1970s, I have belonged to two major co-ops that I can think of: the CS-Co-op (which later became Alterna) and Mountain Equipment Co-op, widely known as MEC. There may be other smaller co-ops that I've belonged to and have forgotten about.
Co-ops that offer banking services, like Alterna, tend to be largely provincially-based, something that I've always found a little problematic. The big banks are federally regulated and CS-Co-op, of course, started as a co-op - really THE co-op - for federal public servants. That meant that in all those years I worked in Hull, I still had to visit one of the CS Co-op branches in Ottawa if I wanted to meet with a staff member or get any kind of in-person banking services. There were, of course, the ATMs all over the major government complexes like Place du Portage and Terrasses de la Chaudiere and back in the day, there were stacks of their newsletter SCOOP in all the employee lounges.
Then some time in the mid to late 1990s, I think, I was invited to take part in an evening focus group (for which we were paid a small amount, perhaps $50) at which they floated the idea of amalgamating with a similar Toronto-based group. I kind of got the idea that this merger (or whatever the technical name for it was) was pretty much a fait accompli. One clue, though not the only one, was that they instructed us not to talk about it to anyone outside the room. But perhaps that's standard practice for any kind of focus group. Another one was that towards the end of the session, after giving us some limited background information, they did a kind of tour-de-table to see who would favour the union of those two organizations. While most either said they'd be for it or were kind of on the fence, I said that on balance I thought I would oppose it. I felt I was definitely an outlier on that - and the discussion leaders (I think there were two of them), while mostly very professional and not tipping their hands as to where they stood, actually appeared a little miffed or at least taken aback.
So here's some more of what I remember about the session. They told us that this group was people who had been members for some time and had all reported that they would like to be able to do more of their banking with CS Co-op. Earlier in the session we had been discussing what we saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the services that were offered by them and many of the participants spoke of experiences that were similar to mine. But I don't think anyone else raised the issue of differences between the levels of service offered between Ontario and Quebec. And what bothered me about the whole thing was that things might reach the point where the organization was not just Ontario-centric but Toronto-centric too!
I've always liked the idea of co-ops, the concept that we each buy a share and we're all shareholders and co-owners and in theory, all have a say in the direction the organization goes. In the case of Alterna, I still get invited each year to their annual general meeting (with a choice between in-person and online attendance, at least until this year) and am entitled to vote.
As for MEC, I bought my share, I have a cute little plastic card for my wallet, and I have regularly shopped with them over the years, both in person and online. I also get occasional e-mails from them. But they have not once invited me to an annual general meeting, I haven't once been given a chance to vote, and the news of their sale to a private investor came as a complete surprise to me. They didn't even send me an e-mail after the fact to inform me of the dastardly deed. However, here is what appeared on their website two days ago:
https://www.mec.ca/en/explore/mec-to-be-acquired
So today, I'm thinking back as to what I've bought from them over the years. There's my little pink foldaway jacket, my backpack, some things I've bought for the grandchildren (including a bicycle helmet and a sleeping bag). I know there are other things, but I can't offhand remember what they were.
When MEC first set up shop in Ottawa (or at least when I first discovered them here), they were in a building on Beechwood Avenue, near the old Towne cinema. Later, when the Towne moved into the old Nelson on Rideau Street and became the Bytowne, MEC set up shop in Westboro, along Richmond Road just west of where Wellington turns into Richmond.
Apparently many of their bricks-and-mortar stores are to close. And yes, I realize that times are very hard for all retailers during a pandemic. But surely a venture like MEC that has a longstanding and loyal following amongst environmentalists, that was always so much more than just an outdoor life department store... surely it could have treated us, its shareholders, so much better than this, and probably prospered while doing it. I suspect the Ottawa location will be one of the ones that survives.
The only question in my mind is whether I'll continue to shop there!
Since the 1970s, I have belonged to two major co-ops that I can think of: the CS-Co-op (which later became Alterna) and Mountain Equipment Co-op, widely known as MEC. There may be other smaller co-ops that I've belonged to and have forgotten about.
Co-ops that offer banking services, like Alterna, tend to be largely provincially-based, something that I've always found a little problematic. The big banks are federally regulated and CS-Co-op, of course, started as a co-op - really THE co-op - for federal public servants. That meant that in all those years I worked in Hull, I still had to visit one of the CS Co-op branches in Ottawa if I wanted to meet with a staff member or get any kind of in-person banking services. There were, of course, the ATMs all over the major government complexes like Place du Portage and Terrasses de la Chaudiere and back in the day, there were stacks of their newsletter SCOOP in all the employee lounges.
Then some time in the mid to late 1990s, I think, I was invited to take part in an evening focus group (for which we were paid a small amount, perhaps $50) at which they floated the idea of amalgamating with a similar Toronto-based group. I kind of got the idea that this merger (or whatever the technical name for it was) was pretty much a fait accompli. One clue, though not the only one, was that they instructed us not to talk about it to anyone outside the room. But perhaps that's standard practice for any kind of focus group. Another one was that towards the end of the session, after giving us some limited background information, they did a kind of tour-de-table to see who would favour the union of those two organizations. While most either said they'd be for it or were kind of on the fence, I said that on balance I thought I would oppose it. I felt I was definitely an outlier on that - and the discussion leaders (I think there were two of them), while mostly very professional and not tipping their hands as to where they stood, actually appeared a little miffed or at least taken aback.
So here's some more of what I remember about the session. They told us that this group was people who had been members for some time and had all reported that they would like to be able to do more of their banking with CS Co-op. Earlier in the session we had been discussing what we saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the services that were offered by them and many of the participants spoke of experiences that were similar to mine. But I don't think anyone else raised the issue of differences between the levels of service offered between Ontario and Quebec. And what bothered me about the whole thing was that things might reach the point where the organization was not just Ontario-centric but Toronto-centric too!
I've always liked the idea of co-ops, the concept that we each buy a share and we're all shareholders and co-owners and in theory, all have a say in the direction the organization goes. In the case of Alterna, I still get invited each year to their annual general meeting (with a choice between in-person and online attendance, at least until this year) and am entitled to vote.
As for MEC, I bought my share, I have a cute little plastic card for my wallet, and I have regularly shopped with them over the years, both in person and online. I also get occasional e-mails from them. But they have not once invited me to an annual general meeting, I haven't once been given a chance to vote, and the news of their sale to a private investor came as a complete surprise to me. They didn't even send me an e-mail after the fact to inform me of the dastardly deed. However, here is what appeared on their website two days ago:
https://www.mec.ca/en/explore/mec-to-be-acquired
So today, I'm thinking back as to what I've bought from them over the years. There's my little pink foldaway jacket, my backpack, some things I've bought for the grandchildren (including a bicycle helmet and a sleeping bag). I know there are other things, but I can't offhand remember what they were.
When MEC first set up shop in Ottawa (or at least when I first discovered them here), they were in a building on Beechwood Avenue, near the old Towne cinema. Later, when the Towne moved into the old Nelson on Rideau Street and became the Bytowne, MEC set up shop in Westboro, along Richmond Road just west of where Wellington turns into Richmond.
Apparently many of their bricks-and-mortar stores are to close. And yes, I realize that times are very hard for all retailers during a pandemic. But surely a venture like MEC that has a longstanding and loyal following amongst environmentalists, that was always so much more than just an outdoor life department store... surely it could have treated us, its shareholders, so much better than this, and probably prospered while doing it. I suspect the Ottawa location will be one of the ones that survives.
The only question in my mind is whether I'll continue to shop there!
