Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) has set its three-year business plan spanning 2022-2025. AGLC regulates private retail licensing of the non-medical cannabis industry and is the wholesaler of recreational cannabis in Alberta.
Focus on a Post-Pandemic Landscape
The business plan is focused on the impacts of and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan acknowledges that due to the pandemic, consumer behaviours changed, largely influenced by an increase in virtual transactions correlated with lifestyle changes related to working from home. The AGLC is prepared for these changed behaviours to continue after the pandemic.
AGLC considers three major foci in this plan: consumer drivers focusing on differentiated experiences, customization of products, convenience, pricing, and product quality; industry and technology advancements that change the way work is performed, where its performed, and how employees can become reskilled; and re-examining business models and how they meet consumer values due to the changes in the global marketplace.
Regarding the metrics around cannabis for the AGLC, the agency states that there are 699 cannabis retail stores in Alberta, and the AGLC has contracts with 120 licensed producers, 24 of which are from Alberta.
Indicators of Strategy and Performance
AGLC has summarized three indicators of a successful strategy and performance for this business plan. Innovating for the future includes advocating for regulatory changes that support the consumer experience, continuously improving the AGLC supply chains, and evolving education programs.
Responding with agility involves reinforcing market viability through product price, availability, and quality and strengthening partnerships with regulatory organizations, law enforcement, and financial institutions.
Finally, AGLC plans to transform operations to advance high-performing teams by optimizing systems and processes while strengthening and investing in the technological environment to improve systems and increase organizational efficiency.
Education Programs on the Horizon
For cannabis education programs, AGLC indicates that their responsible use for cannabis consumers’ educational programming is pending development as a national standardized tool and/or metric has not yet been established. The CannabisSense program, which is aligned with the agency’s GameSense and DrinkSense programs, will begin collecting baseline data in 2022.
AGLC states three objectives for its strategy and performance: Support Alberta’s competitive advantage through direct and indirect economic and social benefits; as a leader, expand Alberta’s legal gaming, liquor, and cannabis markets; and champion the integration of culture and data with a focus on delivering customer and industry value.
Cannabis is Slow to Bring Revenue
Regarding cannabis, AGLC has been running in the negative for net operating income. The agency has budgeted this to rise ever so slightly into the green by 2023 to $6,848, with targets of $5,280 and $6,431 for 2024 and 2025, respectively. AGLC targets the net revenue as $51,266 and $50,982 for the years 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Actuals 2021 | Budget 2022 | Budget 2023 | Target 2024 | Target 2025 | |
Financial | ($1,000’s) | ||||
Gaming net operating income | $773,608 | $1,248,917 | $1,468,048 | $1,533,210 | $1,589,058 |
Liquor net operating income | $897,105 | $897,747 | $849,907 | $854,454 | $861,084 |
Cannabis net operating income | $(12,034) | $(14,798) | $6,848 | $5,280 | $6,431 |
In comparison, AGLC has budgeted 2023 net revenue for Gaming to be $1,402,684, with $875,674 budgeted as 2023’s net revenue for Liquor.
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