One of Canada’s largest cannabis brands has announced that it now has an official foothold in the US. Now that its strategic licensing partner American Acres Managers has officially changed its name to “Fire & Flower U.S. Holdings”, it has opened its first Fire & Flower branded retail store in Palm Springs, California.
Entering the US
Earlier this year, Fire & Flower announced its intentions to grow south of the border when it signed a licensing agreement with American Acres Managers for the Fire & Flower brand, its tried-and-true store operating process and its Hifyre technology program to use for stores in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
“We have reached a significant milestone for our Company as we have officially planted our roots in the US cannabis market through our strategic partner, American Acres,” said Trevor Fencott, CEO of Fire & Flower, in a press release. “Our Hifyre cannabis digital retail and analytics platform has propelled our growth and leadership position in Canada allowing us to successfully capture consumer buying behaviours and apply predictive and real-time analytics unlike any of our competitors.”
Quality Over Quantity
Fire & Flower’s Canadian retail network operates under the Fire & Flower, Friendly Stranger, Happy Dayz and Hotbox brands. While other big industry players are making major mergers and acquisitions, Fire & Flower seems to be going for quality of quantity, choosing its partners carefully. Its strategic investment in Alimentation Couche-Tard brought it ideal store locations next to Circle K convenience stores, and with this new partnership, Fire & Flower has the footprint in the growing US market that it was looking for.
“As we have continued to demonstrate the value of our technology through the rapid expansion of our multi-banner retail network of over 85 stores throughout Canada, the expansion of our brand and technology into the U.S. is the next step in our evolution,” said Fencott. “We are pleased to now be delivering the same omnichannel, convenience-oriented cannabis retail experience to U.S. consumers and pave the way for the future of cannabis retail in the U.S as legislation continues to develop.”