Debra BorchardtDecember 13, 2022
Company makes progress over the second quarter.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Archives - Green Market Report
Debra BorchardtDecember 13, 2022
Adam JacksonOctober 27, 2022
The agency hasn't rejected the idea either.
StaffOctober 19, 2022
The Daily Hit is a recap of cannabis business news for Oct. 19, 2022.
ON THE SITE
Circle K Owner Doubles Down on Cannabis Bet in Florida
Florida medical marijuana patients might soon have the option to buy their medicine from a gas station next year. Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF) said on Wednesday that it struck a deal with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to start selling cannabis via Circle K convenience stores. Read more here.
Tilray Bullish on Alcohol as Cannabis Profits Shrink
As the cannabis sector hangs by threads, one company is riding the ethanol tide in search of higher margins. Tilray Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: TLRY) said its Breckenridge Distillery will partner with Anheuser-Busch-owned Breckenridge Brewery on a barrel-aged beer and beer-aged whiskey under the banner Buddy Pass. Tilray executives said that they remained bullish on the alcohol sector, as the business segment generated $20.7 million, rising 34% versus the prior year quarter. Read more here.
Leafly Cuts 21% of Staff in Quest to Cut Costs
Leafly (Nasdaq: LFLY), an online cannabis information resource and marketplace, announced Tuesday that it would cut 21% of its workforce as part of new cost-saving measures. Overall, annual cash savings are expected to be $16 million beginning in 2023, primarily due to reduced headcount. Read more here.
Layoffs Mark Next Stage of Cannabis Industry Cutbacks
As of January 2022, cannabis supported 428,000 full-time jobs in America. That equates to more than 107,000 jobs added in 2021, according to the 2022 Jobs Report from Leafly. While that marks the fifth year of industry job growth above 27%, 2022 might break that trend, as cannabis companies have been shifting gears and tightening budgets to boost bottom lines – including cutting staff. Read more here.
Local Modiv Fights Back Against Jersey City Denial
A legal battle is heating up in Jersey City, New Jersey after the applicant Local Modiv was denied a cannabis license. Both Local Modiv and Jersey City filed briefs filed last week in Hudson County Superior Court according to Law 360. In its brief Local Modiv claimed that the CCB (Cannabis Control Board) abused its authority by reviewing Plaintiff’s application for “proof of local support” based on factors that it claimed were completely inapplicable. Read more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Green Organic Dutchman/BZAM
The Green Organic Dutchman (OTC: TGODF) shares popped on the news that it bought privately owned Canadian-based BZAM Holdings (BZAM) in an all-stock deal. BZAM shareholders will end up holding roughly 49.5% of the combined company. The deal is expected to close on Nov. 8, 2022. Read more here.
NewAge Inc. (formerly known as New Age Beverages Corp.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Brent David Willis, the former chief executive officer of NewAge Inc. (formerly known as New Age Beverages Corp.), alleging that Willis engaged in a multiyear fraud by disseminating numerous false and misleading press releases and making false public statements concerning NewAge’s business dealings. Read more here.
AmeriCann Inc.
AmeriCann Inc., a cannabis company that develops state-of-the-art cultivation, product manufacturing, and distribution facilities, reported a significant increase in year-over-year revenue, climbing more than 44% for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022, compared with the prior year. Read more here.
Adam JacksonOctober 19, 2022
Green Thumb Industries struck a deal to lease space from the convenience stores to sell its products.
Debra BorchardtOctober 5, 2021
Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) (OTC: ANCUF), the parent company of Circle K stores is continuing to cement its relationship with cannabis company Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX: FAF) (OTCQX: FFLWF). The two companies are expanding on a pilot program to open new Fire & Flower cannabis retail stores next to existing Circle K in markets across Canada.
The original Circle K co-located store pilot program started in July 2020 with the first two stores, located in Calgary and Grand Prairie, Alberta. The company said that the expansion of the pilot program between the strategic partners will see new co-located retail stores open over the next several months in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The two companies said they expect to continue this strategy with sights set on Ontario and even the U.S.
“Alimentation Couche-Tard has been an invaluable partner to Fire & Flower as we built out Canada’s largest retail network of legal cannabis products and services over the past two years. Our success in Canada, and now as we enter into the U.S., is directly attributable to the powerful consumer data and analytics technology that we have successfully employed in each of our stores through our Hifyre™ technology platform,” said Trevor Fencott, Chief Executive Officer of Fire & Flower. “As we continue to build on our leadership position, we are leveraging our powerful consumer data, strategically working with our key partners to capture this data and, together, enhance our collective cannabis operations, allowing Fire & Flower to advance our ‘asset-light’ business model to further support our financial growth.”
The companies are also capitalizing on the technology that each has developed in order to plan the co-location sites. Fire & Flower said that it used ACT’s existing lease footprint and its own analytics platform called Hifyre to build a small-scale store that delivers strong economies of scale for both companies.
Fencott added, “As we continue to advance our relationship with Couche-Tard, we are driving a new level of service to our extensive operational footprint in Canada and beyond. We are able to leverage the power of Hifyre to allow these small co-located stores to run efficiently. The advanced analytics we provide allows stores to operate and manage inventory at maximum efficiency.”
William SumnerJuly 24, 2019
You may not be able to purchase cannabis from your local gas station, but that hasn’t stopped the international convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX: ATD.A ATD.B) from staking a claim in the industry. Today it was announced that the company would purchase a stake in Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSXV: FAF) $25.9 million.
With over 16,000 stores in 25 countries, Fire & Flower hopes to leverage Couche-Tard’s retail footprint to help aid its own international expansion. This does not mean that company’s cannabis products will be found in a Couche-Tard convenience store anytime soon, but rather that Couche-Tard’s resources will help with growth initiatives like growing and expanding the company’s digital platform Hifyre.
“This strategic investment by Couche-Tard, one of the world’s largest retailers, is transformative for Fire & Flower,” said Fire & Flower CEO, Trevor Fencott. “The support of Couche-Tard’s world-class leadership team, coupled with their impressive international footprint which includes major markets such as the US, Mexico and Europe, provide us with outstanding opportunities for aggressive growth.”
The purchase will be made by an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Couche-Tard through a subscription agreement, upon which Fire & Flower will issue 24,289,706 common shares of the company at a price of $1.07 per common Share, representing a 9.9% ownership interest.
Concurrently, Couche-Tard will receive three series of common share purchase warrants. If exercised, Couche-Tard would increase its stake in the Fire & Flower to 50.1%. Couche-Tard will also be granted board nomination rights. Upon closing of the transaction, Fire & Flower will uplist to the TSX.
“Couche-Tard is excited to make this strategic investment in one of the fastest growing cannabis ‘pure-play’ retailers,” said Brian Hannasch, President and CEO of Couche-Tard. “This investment in Fire & Flower, with a path to a controlling stake, will enable us to leverage their leadership, network and advanced digital platform to accelerate our journey in this new and flourishing sector.”
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