MEC now eyeing late 2021 opening at Midtown
Mountain Equipment Co-op, the popular outdoor retailer, says it plans to open its Saskatoon store in late 2021, more than one year after it was originally set to move into Midtown plaza.
In a brief statement, the Vancouver-based company said it will follow public health advice as it moves forward in confirming a design partner and concept for its Saskatoon location.
“We look forward to moving ahead in the best interest of our Co-op and our members.”
In late 2018, MEC announced plans to spend between $2 million and $3 million renovating a 20,000-square-foot space next to the downtown mall’s new food court.
The opening was originally set for spring 2020. However, the retailer had what it called a “challenging” year marked by weak sales, financial losses and a labour dispute at its store in Victoria, B.C.
MEC lost $11.5 million on sales totalling $462.4 million in 2019.
Earlier this year, MEC and the mall both declined to comment on their plans for the space, part of a broader $80-million refurbishment of the area vacated by Sears in 2017. The company’s challenges led to speculation in the outdoor equipment retail world that the co-operative may have put the brakes on plans to open its first store in Saskatchewan.
Midtown plaza reopened earlier this week as part of the second phase of the Saskatchewan government’s plan to restart the economy as new cases of COVID -19 subside.
Most of the stores in the mall opened on Tuesday, while around half a dozen others are planning to open in the next two weeks.
The Midtown locations of two well-known stores — Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works — remained closed, though, with no immediate indication of that changing.
American retailer L Brands, which owns both chains, said Wednesday that it will shutter 250 Victoria’s Secret stores in Canada and the U.S. this year. The company plans to go from 33 Victoria’s Secret stores in Canada at the start of this year to 23, according to a forecast in its financial documents.
A spokeswoman for Midtown plaza owner Cushman and Wakefield Asset Services said the company did not have any updates. The spokeswoman directed the Saskatoon Starphoenix to a list of stores that are open and opening soon in the mall. Neither of those two stores is included on the list.
L Brands said it was unable to confirm which locations are expected to close.