MEC vs the LBS

I too am somehat confused, although they are not a bike shop, more outdoor, 1% of the pre-tax sales total goes to Canadian environmental causes and have given money to cycling advocacy.  Pretty ethical to me.

Martin www.urbanimages.com

I fully support MEC, I have been a member for over 15 years back when they were on front st. 1st it's a co-op, it's not all about making the owner rich! 2nd it's about getting it's members quality gear without all the marketing hubbub... 3rd they're own gear (MEC branded) may not be the most fashionable but it works incredibly well, and that's what I care about. When north Face sells a jacket for $600 that is technically the same as MEC's $300 one, why would I buy it? 4th they 100% push getting outside, being active and belonging to a community and giving back without worrying about doing the trendiest thing or wearing the coolest clothes. It's more about the activity - exactly what this world desperately needs. The world has changed, LBS have to re-find their place. They need to bridge the gap from people riding bikes to becoming cyclists. After that people take care of themselves. I will not passively go into a bike shop and pay top dollar for something worth 1/2 the price, just to employ a "distributor". Sorry, but I proudly get anything I can from MEC if they have comparable stuff. I'm looking for the best stuff for the least $$$ Andrew

Here's a great letter that might shed some light on why some may have a negative opinion of MEC; http://www.canadiancyclist.com/industry.php?id=16422 The reality of it is, I've been in the "cycling community" for some time, and I cannot remember an event/race that MEC has supported. From both grassroots 'cross races, to larger O-CUP events, they're not there. Yet day, after day, I'm sure there's some Trek Fuel, or Specialized Epic owner, who dropped big $ on their bike, races all of the O-Cups, but goes to MEC to buy lube, because he/she saved $2.00. And it' truely unfortunate, because it was $2.00 extra they didn't want to spend at an IBD. An independent bicycle retailer, that continuously gives their own hard earned cash and time, to support our races and events. And lets not forget to mention the tax breaks they get that smaller shops don't. Smaller shops that give support both in and out of their stores. It's a shame that people don't want to help an owner and his/her staff earn a living, running a bicycle shop (which is no easy task), but are just out to save a "buck". Just my 2 cents.

Erik makes a good point, but the same could be said about buying from internet retailers. In fact, I'm sure the internet is a more significant threat to the viability of the LBS than MEC is. How many of us can claim to have never bought anything through the internet?

I'm sure MEC is a great place to shop and save money.  It's their business practices when it comes to CYCLING products and their suppliers that are the biggest concern.  Their attempt to save their members a buck or two is setting a very bad precident which could easily see the demise of the cycling distribution network and a few good product manufacturers in Canada. MEC is setting up a Walmart style business by shirking the established distribution/supply network for cycling gear and buying direct from manufacturers.  

In Walmart's infancy, by dealing directly with the manufaturers, Walmart was able to demand the price they wanted to pay for these companies' products.  If the company wouldn't accept Walmart's offer they would essentially go under as Walmart was the biggest player in the market.  (Rubbermaid was one of Walmart's biggest victims and ended up being bought out by their nearest competitor, who accepted Walmart's pricing demands)

I'm not saying that MEC themselves will do this to the cycling market.  But the precident they are setting would allow a company like Walmart or Sportcheck/Sportmart to enter the cycling market on a much larger scale and probably put a few good cycling product companies under, not to mention the distribution networks and a bunch of specialty shops(your LBS!)  Ie. peeps will lose their jobs.

 

So, if in 10 years you want to be buying all of your cycling gear from a Walmart store and be waited on by some 18year old punk who knows nothing about bikes nor could care less, keep supporting your MEC and save your precious little pennies. Don't worry, MEC's ability to sell cycling products will be gone then as well, and, they will owe it to themselves. 

There is nothing stopping MEC from working with the established distribution network other than their drive for greater profits.  Oh, but apparently its all in the name of getting their members a good deal.... ya right, its always about the $$$$. 

I'm inclined to agree that MEC is sucking money away from the good local shops who support the grassroots, like you say. Especially now that they have gotten into the business of selling complete bikes instead of the miscellaneous crap they were selling before. But why isn't anyone here complaining about all the money going to the internet retailers as well? It seems like most people will go to MEC to buy stuff like lube and tubes, that's chickenfeed next to all the carbon wheelsets etc that people order through the web. Is it bad to buy this sort of stuff online versus through your LBS? I think most people will choose the web if it means a savings of several hundred dollars, especially if you have to pay full retail at the bike shop.

Peter you had me at Walmart. I guess the co-operative nature of MEC has always made me over look the real effect that they have on small business. I know economies of scale make it hard to deliver on price and unfortunately price is always a major factor. The letter that Erik posted made the MEC Walmart connection even clearer. I would hate to see any LBS go out of business because people are going to MEC to save a couple of bucks, as was pointed out, on parts for a $3,000 bike. I think internet commerce does have an effect on the LBS, and yes I have used the web as a method of saving big bucks, but the issue to me at least is not as simple. Forgetting E-bay there is a large price difference between the US and Canada. Exchange is obviously a factor and prices are established well before merchandise makes it to stores but somehow things are always cheaper south of the border even when our dollar is strong. Is it a tax issue meaning duty, gst etc. that adds so much to prices here? What do Canadian distributors, if anyone knows, do about the fact that it is harder for them to compete. I seriously want to be a better consumer and be more supportive especially to shops that support cycling in return. The difficult question for me is - How can I ignore options that can result in me being able to do more with less? Mike

There's also MEC's history of bringing products in off the grey market to undercut local bike shops. Crank Brothers and Park Tool come to mind as two brands that found out about this and cut MEC for several years from carrying their brands.

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If I recall correctly MEC supports IMBA and various other non race cycling projects. And they have been a big sponsor of NSMBA trail day's in their birth place of BC. Just because a place like MEC doesn't show up at OCups and other races in no way means they don't support in other ways. At the end of the day all it means is that one of the 2 monopolies in Canada has taken a hit. In no capacity will this be a big deal. If it was then all those outdoor businesses within 50ft of Toronto's or Vancouvers MEC should have closed long ago. Hell, across the street from MEC's main stor in Van is a bike shop. Been there for over 10 years and still going strong. MEC fills a need in the market. You either shop there or don't. Nor do you have to buy everything you need while there, you can go somewhere else to get the rest. No one forces one to shop there at gun point.