Maple Ridge pot-shop opening raises B.C. retail roster to 59 private stores
Credit to Author: Derrick Penner| Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:11:03 +0000
B.C.’s slow rollout of legal, recreational cannabis sales has been gaining a little bit more speed with the opening of new private stores including one this week in Maple Ridge.
Alberta-headquartered retailer Spiritleaf held the grand opening for its Maple Ridge store Tuesday, after a soft opening Monday, making it the chain’s fourth location, said Nathan Noble, the company’s manager of retail.
“It does seem like things are starting to speed up,” said Noble, “and the province is learning what is working and maybe what hasn’t worked, and making necessary adjustments.”
Spiritleaf’s opening in Maple Ridge, in the Valley Fair Mall, is the third store in the Lower Mainland outside of Vancouver, after openings on Bowen Island and in Chilliwack.
Noble said the location is a franchise operation, with local franchisee partner Jeff Sweetnam, that offers great exposure. Its neighbours in the shopping mall include a grocery story and numerous boutiques.
And it’s the 59th private store approved and opened in the province, with an additional three provincially owned B.C. Cannabis stores, versus 270 retail outlets in Alberta.
“Each province has had its challenges,” Noble said.
B.C. might have been slower off the mark with its approval process. Noble said provincial licensing officials have proven supportive for those applicants that have been able to navigate the approval process set out for them.
Colorado-based research firm BDS-Analytics, in a report it released last April, said B.C.’s entrenched illicit market for cannabis was one reason legal marijuana sales were slow to take off in the province.
However, the province has also stepped up enforcement action against illegal dispensaries. At the beginning of August, B.C.’s Community Safety Unit raided and shut down four illicit retail operations, two in Victoria and two in Kamloops.
Noble said that B.C. authorities, faced with the challenge of trying to bring in experienced business owners from the “legacy industry” of formerly illegal dispensaries, “have taken their best shot.”
He added that SpiritLeaf’s stores have been receiving good support from customers, though many are probably used to cheaper prices for cannabis in the illicit market.
“Pricing is one of the more commonly discussed topics at our retail stores,” said Noble.