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MEC might be done very soon.
Their Covid-19 setup is pretty poor imo.
MEC needs to install a bunch of plexiglass and open all their tills and they'd be fine. Why the fuck they try and operate with 2 or 3 tills open ... I have no ideaThis quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Awww man I have to buy a climbing helmet and Atmosphere suuuuuuux
Vertical AddictionThis quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Valhalla Pure
Monod
Climb On Squamish
There's lots of options out there...
I like MEC as much as the next guy, but everything they sell can easily be bought elsewhere, and a lifetime warranty on outdoor wear is not hard to find. It will suck if they go out of business as their stores are nice to be in, but it won't change much IMO.
Hard to believe they aren't thriving now though, weather is great and outdoor activities have been 'open' for a long time now. People have never been more eager to get out of the house and they even have an online store.
MEC products (the MEC 'brand' stuff) have gone under a sharp quality and durability decline in the past 10-15 years. Stuff I have from the 90s and 00s has held up better than similar stuff from five years ago. The stuff was good so you rarely ever needed a warranty.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Now as you say the stuff isn't hard to find, and now there isn't a quality gap. If the MEC brand stuff isn't good and what you're left with for quality is named brands, might as well shop around for the best price and service, which now is probably at places like Atmosphere instead.
Agreed the MEC brand stuff isn't remotely close to the quality of yester-year. I sure hope they can pull through though. Going to the MEC downtown is like a kid in the candy store.
Ultracrepidarian
I'm not a MEC guy by any means but I do know that the frequency by which I visit their B&M stores has pretty much dropped to zero. Probably the two biggest reasons was the attitude of the staff and also the general lack of staff - customers do not generally like being talked down to and their staff IMO has become very adept at talking down to customers. Also, I shouldn't have to wait a gazillion years to actually get a warm breathing body to help me - I will actually leave and go to the competitor down the road who can actually help me and is actually interested in doing so.
Now I know I am quickly becoming a dinosaur in this day and age of online shopping of which my wife and I do none of but customer service and care should still be very important to any business that wants to have a loyal customer base whether that business be on-line or at a brick and mortar location.
https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/04...irus-struggle/This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
They weren't in good shape before COVID. My MEC pack from 90s is still going strong and they fixed the zipper once under warranty. No complaints and will be missed if they can't make it.
Last edited by Xtrema; 06-30-2020 at 09:06 AM.
Their huge expansion definitely is a cause for that. They built a giant store in Kelowna. Like, wtf.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Not to mention their massive store in Seton.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
It still hasn't opened back up.
I used to be a hardcore mec fanboy. I will be sad.
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Agreed. Trying to dip their toes into too many pools and expanding way too much. Edmonton has two MECs. WHY?! Even IKEA knows only one store per cityThis quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Ultracrepidarian
Well Calgary is planning to have 3 MEC stores right - the one in beltline, one in seton and one near bowness in that new suburb near COP.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Exactly! It's asinine imo.
Ultracrepidarian
I wonder if Aubrey Mclendon is alive somewhere, laughing at this news. I seem to remember something about his death stating that the body was burned so badly it was unidentifiable?This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
AFAIK the plan is to close the beltline store and just have seton and bowness.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
MEC just isn't competitive due to a bunch of really stupid decisions made in the past and their attempt to move into the space of the big box retailers which is a race to the bottom that they are not equipped to handle. Especially when they are too busy doing stupid SJW crap instead of focusing on running a COOP. The board of directors and the whole place over there is filled with idiots who are going to run the whole thing right into the ground.
I've been buying a fair bit of climbing gear of late from SportChek/Atmosphere because they actually have sales where they mark down their gear. MEC doesn't do so for the public only to the staff... No way I am going to pay 25-30% more just to support that place.
Last edited by mazdavirgin; 06-30-2020 at 11:35 AM.
Support local!
I bought a helmet at Norseman Outdoor Specialist near Glamorgan. Got lucky because all Atmosphere is sold out; MEC has an hour wait? Definitely not bankrupt
I'm waiting for CNRL buying everyone.