We take no small steps; we only enter large markets at large scale”
- Brad Rogers, Chairman and CEO
Stockhouse cannabis investors know there are a lot of companies vying for their investment dollars in a marketplace that’s been battered and beaten for the better part of 12 months. But investors and shareholders can also see the tide is turning.
For a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the positive ‘stay-at-home’ effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cannabis sales, the industry is now maturing. And re-growing. Few business sectors have demonstrated a clearer example of classic Social Darwinism that the nascent cannabis industry. “Survival of the fittest” on Planet Pot is more than a moniker, it’s a movement.
The natural weeding out (pardon the pun) of the weaker, poorly positioned players has re-opened opportunities for those stronger companies. Companies like
Red White & Bloom Inc. (RWB) (
CSE.RWB,
OTC:TDRYD,
Forum).
And the company is reaching high. Very high. Calling itself the “torchbearer leading a new frontier and setting a standard in the American cannabis industry”, RWB says it’s on a mission to become
the superior and most recognizable cannabis company in the U.S., holding itself to the highest ethical, manufacturing, education, branding, and employment standards.
Hitting the ground running, no…sprinting, RWB is a fully vertically integrated, seed-to-sale company that has raised, to date, over $100 million in private equity and a well positioned market cap in excess of $322 million.
Branding itself as the nation’s first and only ‘Super State Operator’, RWB recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the licensing rights for the branding of High Times dispensaries and High Times cannabis-based CBD and THC products in the populous states and lucrative markets of Michigan, Illinois, and Florida, along with the branding of High Times hemp-derived CBD products nationally in the U.S. under the Culture brand flag.
Looking ahead to the completion of its investments and acquisitions in Michigan and Massachusetts, and its recently-acquired massive 3.6 million square foot CBD growth operation in Illinois, Red White & Bloom will be among the cannabis market’s most experienced companies and will join a select group of multi-state operators. The Company also intends to enter new locations such as Florida with exclusive High Times licencing rights for that state (retail, THC products as well as CBD products). All of which translates into the best possible products for American cannabis consumers in the most important States.
Flying ‘High’
Hightimes Holding Corp. is the owner of High Times monthly magazine – one of the most well-known brands in cannabis – and attracts millions of monthly unique visitors to its websites and boasts a massive online social media presence.
In addition to the dispensaries becoming High Times-branded destinations, RWB plans to introduce High Times-branded products including flower, vapes, tinctures, topicals, and edibles through both owned and other third-party outlets – subject to the licensing agreements for each respective state.
Forming partnerships in the cannabis space is not uncommon – companies are always on the lookout for new ways to monetize capital and bundle competing resources. But it’s not often that a 45-year industry icon and a newly-minted major player in the cannabis space meet at the intersection of a major deal. And…the major deal is a big deal. Here it is.
Brad Rogers, Chairman and CEO, commented on this one-of-a-kind deal:
“Throughout my career in the highly competitive media space, prior to cannabis, I have seen tremendous success licensing-in brands, strategically leveraging them for the demographics that recognize the best in class and quality, and then listing them in big box & specialty retailers. This agreement paves a path that will allow RWB and High Times to grow together well into the future beyond our news today. Completing this deal represented by the only iconic brand in cannabis which has been around for over 45 years is a real honour. And to usher out the prohibition of cannabis with this type of brand power has RWB in the best position we could be. We will look to leverage this and other licensing partnerships to support our existing retail and cultivation dominance as well as further foundationalize our positioning for future plans.”
Recently in the News
On June 18
th, RWB commenced trading today on OTCQX under the symbol “TDRYD.”
Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is often seen as an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their U.S. investors. For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the U.S. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.
Brad Rogers had this to say about the listing:
“We are extremely proud to announce the commencement of trading on the OTCQX Best Market. We are thrilled to have a foundation in which we can share our long-term vision for RWB with a wider pool of retail and institutional shareholders throughout the United States. We firmly believe that cross-trading on OTCQX in the U.S. is vital for a company headquartered in the U.S. and deriving 100 percent of its revenue from U.S. customers.”
About Red White & Bloom Brands
Boasting ‘first-mover advantage’, Red White & Bloom’s U.S. footprint currently spans Michigan, Illinois, and Massachusetts. With a massive combined cultivation footprint of over
four million square feet, 600-plus employees, and 22 individual facilities, RWB’s mandate is to operate at scale in select states that provide the greatest return for their partners and shareholders.
RWB is rapidly becoming a leader in all three states, which continue to post very strong monthly cannabis sales numbers.
Unlike some of the other multi-state operators, RWB is ready-set-go with its brands right out of the starting blocks. The U.S. nationwide rollout should save the company a bunch of money on purchasing costs and R&D. Red White & Bloom intends to offer products in the high, mid and low-price tiers, with THC and CBD-dominant variants for each. Doing so will allow the company to address virtually all of the various niches in the cannabis industry.
Excluding Florida and Massachusetts, the Company’s combined operating markets are already estimated to be worth in excess of over $4 billion. RWB is currently developing the infrastructure and brands to conquer the most lucrative cannabis market in the world...the U.S.A. Not willing to settle on just leading the Midwest, RWB has entered the Massachusetts market with a plan to introduce its brands throughout New England.
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From the CEO
Recently in a conversation with Stockhouse Editorial, Red White & Bloom’s CEO Brad Rogers explained how he sees the Company as much more than just a multi-state operator. And that’s how the whole ‘Super State Operator’ concept developed:
“It was very important earlier on to the capital markets to say you’re a multi-state operator. Why? Because you’re everywhere. One store in 19 states. Now you have 19 regulatory frameworks to deal with and licensing in each one of those state that’s very different and difficult to activate, maintain and monitor. And that’s just on the regulatory front.”
He then went on to explain the Walgreen’s or Walmart business model as a template that the cannabis industry can learn from:
“Those companies didn’t start off in all 50 states. They started hub & spoke in a very concentrated area to really button down their operations. And that’s effectively what the Super State Operator model is providing us. We’re going to grow (regionally) at scale then add a national play to that. By proxy of having a huge facility that is already hemp-licensed we can produce out of and taps into our already existing acumen of big box retailers across the United States.”
Or as Brad calls the evolution, “from toilet paper to rolling paper.”
In Closing
To date, Red White & Bloom is one of the leading cannabis companies in the Midwest, which is now on the regional forefront of cannabis legalization in the U.S. -- Michigan and Illinois, two of the largest states in the region, legalized cannabis for recreational use last year.
With 10 stores up & running in Michigan alone, and 8 ready-to-open, plus over $100 million in sales and 22 percent control of the market, RWB is now uniquely positioned to rapidly break out above and beyond the Midwest and Massachusetts and become the nation’s number one fully vertically integrated cannabis company.
Red White & Bloom’s profitable operations, massive scale, and attractive valuation make it a must-own cannabis stock for any serious investor that’s bullish on the U.S. cannabis industry.
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FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article of Stockhouse Publishing.