High Tide Inc. (“High Tide” or the “Company”) (TSXV: HITI) (Nasdaq: HITI) (FSE: 2LYA), a retail-focused cannabis company enhanced by the manufacturing of proprietary and licensed consumption accessories, announced today that its Canna Cabana retail cannabis stores located at 4140 Walker Road in Windsor, Ontario, and 960 Brookdale Avenue in Cornwall, Ontario, have begun selling recreational cannabis products for adult use. These openings bring High Tide’s total number of branded retail locations across Canada to 101, and 30 in Ontario, selling recreational cannabis products and consumption accessories. With the opening of these locations, the Company has launched eight organically-built stores in the month of September alone.
The Windsor store is High Tide’s first in that community, which is Ontario’s 10th-largest city with a population of nearly 220,000. The store is located in a major retail and commercial district in the south of the city, anchored by numerous national big-box retailers, including a national hardware store chain, and is well-connected to Highway 401, which is Canada’s busiest highway.
The Cornwall store is also High Tide’s first to open in the community, a city of close to 50,000 people in eastern Ontario. It is located in Cornwall’s Brookdale Centre, a large retail and commercial plaza anchored by several national big-box retailers including a major grocery chain, and is adjacent to the intersection of two highways which bring residents and visitors in and out of the city.
Support for World Vision
To mark the 100-store milestone, High Tide is committing to expand its long-standing partnership with World Vision that has grown substantially from initial sponsorships of three children in 2006 to over 200 sponsorships in 2021. Moving forward, High Tide will sponsor an additional two children through World Vision for every new Canadian store opened.
“Being the first non-franchised Canadian cannabis retailer to reach the 100-store milestone is a proud moment for our company. This major accomplishment is a direct result of the tireless efforts of our retail and support teams. I am a big believer in setting and achieving targets. For some time now, I have said that we were committed to reaching the 30-store milestone in Ontario by the end of September. We met that goal today, despite ongoing pandemic related challenges that have slowed the process of securing building permits. Despite these challenges, we are rapidly advancing our footprint across Ontario and remain excited about our trajectory to hit the new 75-store cap. While we have met two major bricks and mortar milestones, we have also simultaneously built an extensive e-commerce portfolio focussed on the U.S. market that complements our existing business lines. As High Tide moves forward, we intend to continue this pace of growth for the remainder of 2021 and throughout 2022, with a goal of eventually exceeding 200 retail locations across Canada. Our objective is to solidify our leadership position with respect to Canadian market share, which will set us up for long-term success by enhancing same-store sales and allowing for the cross-selling of our in-house brands and products across all of our platforms,” said Raj Grover, President and Chief Executive Officer of High Tide. “I have also long believed that corporate social responsibility must be at the core of High Tide’s business operations. That is why, many years ago, I made our support of World Vision a priority. I’m pleased by how much it has grown over time and look forward to executing on today’s commitment to expand it further as we continue to grow. The best is yet to come for High Tide, and I look forward to sharing multiple additional positive developments in the coming weeks. I want to take this opportunity to thank our customers, shareholders and team members who have supported us throughout this journey,” added Mr. Grover.
Grant of Options
Furthermore, High Tide granted 6,000 stock options (the “Options”) to certain employees, exercisable for a period of three years.
