/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES/
EDMONTON, April 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. ("FFHC") (TSX: FAF) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Fire & Flower Inc. ("Fire & Flower" or the "Company"), today announced that it will launch a curbside pickup program across its retail network in the province of Saskatchewan, starting on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
The curbside pickup program is a new service offered through the Hifyre™ Spark Perks™ digital retail platform. This service is offered in addition to Fire & Flower's same day delivery that is available in select markets in the province of Saskatchewan.
Fire & Flower highlights its rapid deployment of industry-leading health and safety practices that include contactless curbside pickup and delivery services in the province of Saskatchewan as a model for safe and effective retail operations during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
The temporary closure of legal cannabis retailers in certain markets, particularly in the province of Ontario, may bolster the illicit market and the potential sale of unregulated, potentially harmful products without oversight of health and safety practices, inventory tracking, product testing and sales and marketing to young persons.
Fire & Flower firmly believes that private retail delivery services and curbside pickup programs can provide safe access to legal cannabis products in support of Canadians' common goal of slowing the spread of COVID-19 and eliminating the illicit cannabis market.
"Fire & Flower's core focus as a technology-enabled retail 2.0 company has provided us with a distinct competitive advantage in an environment where social, political and economic conditions are fundamentally changing the ways that retail companies can safely conduct their business," shared Trevor Fencott, Chief Executive Officer of Fire & Flower. "Our member base in the Spark Perks program of more than 90,000 cannabis customers provides us a channel to continue to drive customers to programs such as curbside pickup and delivery and is a further competitive advantage compared to retailers who rely solely on foot traffic to drive sales."
On April 3, the province of Ontario announced that cannabis retail stores were removed from the list of essential workplaces and were no longer permitted to operate during the COVID-19 public health crisis for a 14-day period following the announcement. The Company has temporarily closed its Ottawa and Kingston locations on April 4, 2020. Fire & Flower is hopeful the province of Ontario will evaluate the potential impact of the closure of private cannabis retail on the proliferation of the illicit market.