Mountain Equipment Co-op coming to Saskatoon
National outdoors chain’s first outlet in province to open in spring of 2020
SASKATOON Mountain Equipment Co-op is coming to the Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon.
The Vancouver-based outdoor clothing and equipment retailer on Tuesday said it plans to start construction on a 20,000-square-foot store in the downtown shopping centre next fall, with plans to open in the spring of 2020.
Part of what has been described as a “major redevelopment” for the city ’s largest mall, the store will be the first MEC outlet in Saskatchewan, and the co-operative’s 25th in Canada.
“MEC’S new store in the heart of Saskatoon will support our 60,000 existing members in the province and encourage new ones to join the fold,” MEC CEO David Labistour said in a statement.
“Saskatoon is the province’s gateway city to outdoor recreation — our new store will bring our product selection, programs and services to more members and be closer to where they live, work and play.”
MEC sells a wide range of outdoor clothing and equipment, including gear for camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking, and snow sports.
“We are thrilled to welcome MEC to Saskatoon and anticipate that people from all over the province will be excited to shop at the new store in 2020,” said Midtown GM Terry Napper in a statement.
MEC is the mall’s first major tenant announcement since Sears Canada Inc. shuttered its store last fall as part of a nationwide closure.
In May, Midtown’s general manager said the hole left by the departure of Sears was set to be divided up and filled by the end of next year. Napper, in an interview in May, said he expects the mall to be “100 per cent leased” again in 12 to 18 months.
“There’s a whole list of retailers that they are close to signing,” Napper said in May.
Sears occupied the second-largest retail space in the mall, second only to The Bay, and spanned multiple floors. Napper, in the interview last spring, said the plan was to divide that space among multiple retailers.
“We will break it up,” he said at the time.
“However, the plans … for (the former) Sears are not totally finalized.
“It’s like a moving puzzle.” Founded in 1971, MEC claims to be the country’s largest consumer co-operative with more than five million members. Customers must pay $5 for a lifetime membership in order to shop at the company’s stores.