What was Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)?

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), now Mountain Equipment Company, was a Canadian outdoor-equipment retailer that operated as a consumer co-operative from its founding in Vancouver in 1971 until its demutualisation in 2020. At its peak MEC had more than five million members across Canada, 22 retail stores, and was one of the country's largest co-operatives. Members paid a one-time $5 lifetime fee to join.

The co-operative was founded by six University of British Columbia students who needed mountaineering gear for a Mount Robson expedition. The first MEC store opened in 1971 in a Vancouver loft. Over the next four decades MEC built a strong reputation for high-quality outdoor gear at fair prices, an environmental ethos, fair labour practices, and active membership engagement. The co-operative invested in Canadian outdoor recreation, sponsored trail-building grants, and pioneered transparency in supply chains.

MEC entered financial difficulty in the late 2010s due to slowing sales, expansion costs, and changing retail dynamics. In September 2020 the MEC board announced a Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act filing and the sale of MEC's assets to U.S.-based Kingswood Capital Management for $150 million, ending the co-operative model. A member-led campaign called Save MEC and a court challenge questioned the process; the Supreme Court of British Columbia approved the sale on October 16, 2020. The company continued operations as Mountain Equipment Company under for-profit ownership.

Under Kingswood's ownership, the company has closed several stores and reduced its product breadth. The transformation has prompted broader debate in Canada about the financial sustainability of consumer co-operatives in retail markets dominated by global brands and online competitors. Other large Canadian co-operatives including Federated Co-operatives Limited (Western Canadian agriculture and consumer), the Co-operators (insurance), Vancity (credit union), and Desjardins (financial services) continue to operate at scale, illustrating that the co-operative form can endure when financial discipline and member engagement remain strong.