An Open Letter From MEC's CEO Reveals Changes In 2020
After Mountain Equipment Co-op posed an 11 Million dollar loss last year, there were sure to be some changes coming. MEC’s CEO Phil Arrata posted an open letter describing changes to come…
“As we continue to move our Co-op into 2020 and beyond our new executive team is committed to communicating relevant information to our members in a timely manner. In order to remain viable in the rapidly evolving retail market and ensure our long-term sustainability, MEC needs to move faster than ever.
There have been a number of changes at MEC and we felt it was important that our members hear the news directly from their Co-op. Changes that impact people are never taken lightly and are done thoughtfully and with compassion.”
First and foremost, the executive team has set a goal to bring MEC back to a financially healthy state and allow us to reinvest in MEC and the communities we serve.
We’ve made a decision to invest in our retail stores and frontline staff. We have converted 950+ casual-non-permanent roles into a combined 950+ Full and Part-Time roles.
All MEC Part-Time and Full-Time employees receive our benefits package which includes extended health and dental coverage, tuition assistance benefit, RRSP matching plan and the Maternity and Parental Leave top-ups. Store and Service Centre staff also have access to the MEC staff paid volunteerism program.
This shift is in response to the feedback MEC received from our staff regarding MEC’s casual-non-permanent staff designation. The change improves job stability, member experience, employee engagement and product knowledge. Staff that prefer non-permanent status are eligible to apply for seasonal fixed term positions during peak periods. We will be working with our union partner to implement similar changes in our Vancouver and Victoria stores.
In order to invest in our retail stores and frontline staff, we are finding efficiencies elsewhere. For example, in 2019 we implemented changes to reduce annual costs through efficiencies in technology spend, supply chain improvements and operations.
We have also announced that we are seeking to sublet our head office building with the goal of moving to a space more appropriate for our needs.
