Mountain Equipment Co-Op - Marketing Management Orientation

The following report documents 5 different areas of focus pertaining to the following company "Mountain Equipment Co-op", Please enjoy...

Marketing Management Orientation:

The Societal Marketing concept is the orientation best exemplified by Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC). This is evident in the following ways: The company's mission statement clearly outlines that passion is what drives their company, even over profit. The passion to continue to look for ways to protect our wild spaces and reduce the ecological footprint of their business. MEC separates itself from other outdoor retailers through its eco-friendly product line and superior focus on corporate social responsibility. They urge society to count on them to act with integrity and due diligence. Although MEC's goal is to make quality products for the outdoors, they will only do so by respecting the people who do the manufacturing of these products/items. They do this by ensuring there are safer working conditions, legal working hours, and reasonable pay for work done. Secondly, the way in which Mountain Equipment Co-op operates its business and shows dedication not only to providing costumers with their needs but also focusing on a long standing environmental and economic sustainability. MEC is noted for their ethical sourcing, labouring commitments and co-operative structure. The co-op, designs and produces the majority of it's gear while also carrying products by many other well-known companies. MEC strives for social and environmental leadership, In 2008 an impressive 92% of the annual waste generated by MEC was either: recycled, composted or donated. That certainly goes a long way in strengthening societies long-term interests. Lastly, while Mountain Equipment Co-op bills itself as Canada's largest supplier of outdoor equipment, its long-term challenge is to remain relevant to a quickly changing demographic that prefers urban outdoor experiences. In light of this, MEC has expanded its assortment to now include such urban outdoor pursuits (road running, biking and yoga). By adding these recently popular activities MEC feels they can really gain a tight strangle hold of the total market share. MEC has over 3.3 million members in Canada and internationally, operating in fifteen cities across Canada and continues to grow each year at a slow methodical pace. Fulfilling the mission statement of "getting people outdoors" as eco-friendly as possible is something MEC continually strives for.

Customer Loyalty:

Mountain Equipment Co-op employes many tactics to solidify customer loyalty, here are three examples: Every year, every member of Mountain Equipment Co-op has the opportunity to vote in the elections for it's board of directors. The board is governed by nine-members, where each year three directors are elected to a three year term. Before the election period, an information package is distributed on a mass basis to all the MEC members before casting their votes. The election results are announced at the "annual general meeting" held in Vancouver, British Columba. At this meeting, the Chief Executive Officer discloses their annual reports and answers questions from co-op members. To keep business you need to keep customers happy, to keep customers happy you need to cater to them, having them involved in the "annual general meeting" does just that. Building a team/organization are both great ways of getting people involved, MEC clearly values what their customers think. In the end without the customers you have nothing, this is a great tactic to solidify a true business relationship. Secondly, Mountain Equipment Co-op sells outdoor recreation gear and clothing to it's members exclusively. As a co-op, MEC sells only to customers who hold a lifetime membership, which is technically a share and can be purchased by anyone for five dollars. Members can shop at any of the retail stores, online or by mail order from their catalogue. MEC also operates a corporate and group sales store which targets larger orders at discounted prices. Yet again just another superior loyalty tactic to keep their customers interest vested. The monetary fee is just clever business practice, the real idea behind this is to let the "potential market" know that MEC truly values your business and would like you to become apart of our business structure going forward. Lastly, Mountain Equipment Co-op has undertaken many business initiatives to solidify customer loyalty from top to bottom of the organization. Back in 1997, they introduced a free of charge online gear swap where members could recycle used outdoor gear. In 2007, MEC opened the first accredited "Green" LEED(The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) distribution center in Surrey, British Columba. LEED encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices. In 2008, MEC developed and launched a series of annual national paddling and biking expositions. Its been clearly defined that MEC takes a very "Green" approach when it comes to business, this is something that directly plays into that target market. A self-propelled wilderness-oriented recreation goer would certainly buy into such strong values and ultimately stick by that company.

Segmentation Variables:

One of Mountain Equipment Co-op's key main marketing strategies is one of product leadership through supporting price, promotion and distribution strategies. This allows them to gain loyalty from their customer's year after year. MEC is a retail co-operative owned by those who shop at their stores. They focus on creating value for their customers and not solely on making profit for their shareholders. As a co-operative, shopping at any of the MEC's retail stores requires a membership for a small fee of five dollars. Anyone is able to join for life by paying the one time only membership fee which entitles the user too a multitude of benefits. First off, loyalty is gained from promising fair prices on all of their merchandise. MEC states they do not have sales or limited time offers, all of their products are priced fairly. Manufacturing their own brands, MEC's prices and margins are much lower than traditional retailers in their sector. Where others might spend four to six percent of sales on promotion, MEC spends much less, instead choosing to focus their efforts on personal selling and communication with their members through their annual catalogues and web site. MEC's pricing policy also enables customers to price match if the same product is found at another Canadian-based retailer at a lower price, MEC will match the price up to 30 days after purchase. Not only does MEC