Mountain Equipment Co-op’s board of directors announced Monday that they unanimously approved a deal in which a Los Angeles-based private investment firm will acquire MEC’s assets, including the majority of its retail stores.
The retailer said it has been granted court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), allowing it to continue operating e-commerce and retail stores while the transaction and other elements of the plan are completed. I
t says it will accept gift cards and honour warranties during this period.
The decision, however, has not been received well by many of the company’s members.
A petition to cancel the sale received almost 15,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
The man behind it, Paul Finch, says action needed to be taken immediately.
“It was clear the first step was to put together some kind of place where people can coalesce together and start to talk and strategize about next steps,” Finch said.
“We think the board needs to resign, we think there needs to be elections and we need a new board that has a democratic mandate from an engaged membership.”
And it wasn’t just a few of the millions of MEC members who chimed in. B.C. Premier John Horgan voiced his disappointment about the sale on Twitter.
MEC was founded here in BC and has been a big part of the lives of British Columbians who love the outdoors. It's sad to see Canada's largest co-op being sold off to a U.S. firm without consulting the millions of members.https://t.co/teTQVs6IBt
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) September 15, 2020
MEC chair Judi Richardson said the “difficult decision” to sell MEC follows an extensive examination of options after the company was unable to overcome years of persistent financial challenges made worse by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MEC will now become a private company. And while 17 of the 22 locations are expected to remain in place, it’s unclear which locations will be cut, leaving the future of the Victoria store in jeopardy.
With files from the Canadian Press
Ben Nesbit
