Affluent customers, impressive sales figures in a slumping retail market, a brand that’s recognized around the world and a commitment to the natural environment.
And they don’t advertise.
Just who are these guys, and why are they so successful?
Peter Robinson shared a few inside strategies last week on how to run a business sustainably while realizing healthy revenues. As president of Vancouver-based outdoor retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op, Robinson is not only the caretaker for a national chain of seven stores, but the head of a company whose philosophy links consumer, business and the environment in a meaningful way.
MEC says the average age of an MEC member – there are 1.8 million of them – is 38, packing an average annual income of $85,000.
The co-op’s target market is those who seek “self-propelled” wilderness-oriented recreation. “It’s a big business, a huge business in this country,” Robinson told a luncheon meeting of the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) in Calgary last week.
But with such a lucrative market comes responsibility – not only to build on annual revenue, but to build in eco-efficiency, fair labour practices measured by third-party audits and the collective ethical values of co-op members.
“Adapting sustainability saves money,” Robinson said simply.
For MEC, which was born on the West Coast in 1971, that means annual revenue in 2002 of $162 million, with profits pumped back into keeping prices affordable for members who pay $5 for a lifetime membership. It also means designing energy-efficient ‘green’ retail space, such as the Edmonton store converted from a Safeway building in 1998 and the Winnipeg store with composting toilets, as well as setting up a website where members can swap used gear instead of buying new products. “Some people might think that’s outrageous for a retailer,” Robinson said.
As for encouraging progressive labour practices in the factories that make MEC clothing and equipment, “we’re finding more problems in our Canadian factories than our factories in China,” Robinson said.
“Some small to mid-sized factories here (in Canada) have problems with basic employment standards. . . . It’s a myth that sweatshops don’t exist in this country – they do.”
MEC also doesn’t believe in mass media advertising, relying instead on “earned media.”
“The best marketing and communications is when somebody else is talking about you,” said Robinson. But does the MEC model of sustainability and environmental responsibility hold lessons for the oilpatch? Myrna Khan, CBSR’s vice-president of member services, believes so.
Energy companies including Nexen, Suncor, Shell and Chevron are all major “sustaining members” of Vancouver-based CBSR, which encourages businesses to integrate financial, social and environmental performance in their business practices.
“All these companies are doing some very innovative things in terms of sustainability,” Khan said.
Last week’s event was the first in a series of three CBSR luncheon speeches to be held in Calgary this year with the theme: “Return on Integrity: The New ROI.”
“We have a belief that sustainable development will increase shareholder value, and we have a commitment to the communities in which we live and operate,” added Cathy Glover, manger of the Suncor Energy Foundation, which sponsored Robinson’s speech.
“It’s important that Canadian companies explore this.”
Web watch:
www.mec.ca
www.cbsr.ca
