Staff at Fire & Flower in North Battleford serve one of the first customers to purchase legal cannabis on Oct. 17, 2018. The company is set to acquire four new locations in Saskatchewan. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

BUDDING BUSINESS

Fire & Flower to acquire Jimmy’s Cannabis Shops, parent company in Saskatchewan

May 2, 2019 | 3:00 PM

Edmonton-based Fire & Flower is acquiring four retail outlets from Prairie Sky Cannabis Inc. in Saskatchewan, which operate as Jimmy’s Cannabis Shop.

The deal for the locations in Battleford, Estevan, Martensville and Moosomin is valued at $13 million.

The purchase is the first in Fire & Flower’s aggressive acquisition strategy for 2019, according to the organization’s chief executive officer.

“In conjunction with our Open Fields wholesale distribution platform in the province, it cements our leadership position in this strategic market,” CEO Trevor Fencott said in a press release. “We look forward to becoming trusted members of these local communities and effecting a smooth transition of existing local staff to serve consumers in the communities in which we operate.”

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COO Mike Vioncek said the Saskatchewan market was appealing as the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) has proven to be a great partner. Further, Fire & Flower has built a substantial distribution facility in Saskatoon and with the province’s model allowing individuals to distribute product to themselves, the new stores will allow for greater use of the facility.

“The appealing part is we are able to really increase the SKU counts and product assortments in those locations so we can offer people in the communities in question a broader assortment of product now and going forward,” he said.

The company anticipates the acquisition will build Fire & Flower’s brand presence in the province and better serve customers through its brick and mortar and e-commerce models.

The deal includes all the equipment, inventory and provincial and municipal licences and permits used to operate the retail shops in Saskatchewan.

President of Prairie Sky Cannabis John Thomas said Fire & Flower are “exemplary operators of cannabis retail stores” and that Jimmy’s customers will be “well-served by the Fire & Flower team.”

Fire & Flower anticipates closing the deal around May 13. At that time, the stores will be re-branded as Fire & Flower, which will bring the company’s store count to 17 across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

The acquisition comes nearly seven months after legalization in Canada and is not the first for Fire & Flower in North Battleford.

On Oct. 16, the day before prohibition came to an end, the company announced the takeover of North Battleford CannabisCo, a company held by James Davey, the president and CEO of Curativa Cannabis, a division of Envirosafe Chemicals Canada.

The company, Vioncek said, will continue work with other provinces that allow private licenses to allow Fire & Flower to show off their brand.

Seven months on, Vioncek said growth in the industry has been “very interesting,” noting many peaks and valleys since last fall.

Attaining product was a major hurdle Fire & Flower and others sellers encountered, but Vionek said as product availability stabilizes, the company and industry is getting into a rhythm.

“Getting good product on shelves is getting a lot easier,” he said.

Current staff at Jimmy’s Cannabis Shop outlets will be pulled and trained to Fire & Flowers standards. No jobs will be lost and Vioncek said more employees may actually be needed.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr