MEC will open a 20,000-square-foot location in Kelowna, the largest city in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, next spring.
The store will be located at the Orchard Plaza Shopping Centre in Kelowna a city of about 122,000 that borders Okanagan Lake. MEC Kelowna will be the Co-op's sixth BC location after Vancouver, North Vancouver, Victoria, Langley and the UBC Outpost. There are presently more than 40,000 MEC members in the region, from Kamloops in the north to Osoyoos in the south.
“As many of our staff can attest, the Okanagan offers almost limitless opportunities to be active outdoors,” said MEC CEO David Labistour. “We're thrilled at the prospect of being able to serve existing and new MEC members from a landmark commercial location in the heart of Kelowna.”
MEC Kelowna will feature a full-service shop for bike and ski repairs as well as bicycle fitting and an equipment rentals program. The store's product assortment will be tailored to regional activities and preferences of the retail co-operative's members.
The Co-op also plans to introduce its popular events programming to the region, including the MEC Race and Century Ride series. With nominal entry fees, the running races and cycling events are designed to encourage participation. MEC's Langley store drew almost 3,000 participants to its events last year.
MEC will also continue to invest in projects to help strengthen recreation infrastructure and organizations in the region. Over the past decade, MEC has contributed more than $550,000 to projects within the Thompson Okanagan, including $350,000 to help protect climbing access to the Skaha Bluffs near Penticton.
“Members have been asking for a store in the Okanagan for years and we're stoked to soon deliver on that call,” said CFO Sandy Treagus. “We'll take possession of the former Future Shop space in December, and then get on with bringing MEC Kelowna to life inside and out with an extensive renovation. We're keen to open next spring.”
MEC has over 4 million members, 18 retail locations across Canada. It also operates www.mec.ca and our Shop MEC iPhone® app.
