MEC takes a hike to Queen West
Move of ‘King St. institution’ is part of GTA growth strategy
MEC is moving its flagship Toronto store from King St. W., where it has become a landmark, to a location to be built on Queen St. W., according to a spokesperson.
“With any real estate, it’s when the opportunity arises. This opportunity arose so we’re taking a hold of it,” said Anne Donohoe, chief marketing officer for the retailer.
MEC owns the existing location at 400 King St. W., between Peter St. and Spadina Ave.
Donohoe would not say who the buyer is or how much the deal is worth.
MEC will move to a new three-storey building that is in preliminary planning stage, located at 302 Queen St. W., on property owned by Parallax Investment Corp. The site, between Spadina Ave. and Peter St., is currently a parking lot, said Donohoe.
Pending approval from the city of Toronto, the new building will provide MEC with 40,000 square feet of space over two floors. About 27,000 square feet of the space will be used for sales.
The King St. store is 42,000 square feet with 25,265 square feet for product merchandising. It opened in 1998.
The move is scheduled for the fall of 2017. The King St. store will remain open during the process.
“MEC to me is a King Street institution,” said Markus Giesler, professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business. “MEC was a key player in the gentrification of King. It could usher in a new era for Queen, making it a little more upscale and also older.”
He said MEC’s marketing department will need to do a good job of making the move make sense to customers.
“Queen St. is a very dynamic retail area. Toronto is a vibrant city. We want to be where our customers are and we believe Queen St. is a great shopping destination and a great place for MEC,” said Donohoe.
MEC began life as Mountain Equipment Co-op, catering mostly to climbers scaling the mountains of B.C. and the Rockies in Alberta. It has grown into a chain of stores offering equipment and clothing to anyone with an active lifestyle.
While it continues to sell to backpackers, climbers, paddlers, skiers and campers, it also sells yoga and other fitness clothing and products. It has a business unit devoted to everyday living, travel and children.
Last year, as part of a rebrand, the company removed the peaks representing mountains from its logo.
MEC opened its first Ontario store in Toronto in 1985. It now has five stores in Ontario, which has become the co-op’s largest market. More than 30 per cent of MEC members are based in Ontario, and they represent an even stronger proportion of sales, according to MEC.
A store in North York is scheduled to open in 2016 at the Park Towns complex at 784 Sheppard Ave. E. Of MEC’s 600,000 members in the GTA, 100,000 are located in North York.
The company is run as a co-op. It has 4.3-million members; 1.3 million in Ontario.
MEC is working to get more young Canadians outdoors, with a program called Outdoor Nation. On June 27, more than 150 people between ages 19 and 30 will camp out and enjoy a free overnight experience at Evergreen Brickworks.