- Inner Spirit (CSE:ISH) has gained a Retail Operator Licence (ROL) for its corporate-owned Spiritleaf retail cannabis stores in Ontario
- The company must now secure Retail Store Authorisations (RSA’s) before its stores can start operating
- Inner Spirit is in the final stages of completing a transaction to acquire the existing Spiritleaf-branded store in Kingston
- The company plans to open many more of its corporate and franchise cannabis stores in 2020
- Inner Spirit is up 4.35 per cent, and is currently trading for 12 cents per share
Inner Spirit (CSE:ISH) has gained a Retail Operator Licence (ROL) for its corporate-owned Spiritleaf retail cannabis stores in Ontario.
The company has met Ontario’s eligibility criteria for operating cannabis outlets in the province. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario granted the ROL, in order to increase provincial legal cannabis store numbers.
The Spiritleaf corporate stores will need to secure Retail Store Authorisations (RSA’s) next, before they can start operating. Inner Spirit’s CEO, Darren Bondar, expressed how pleased the company was to receive an ROL for its corporate-owned stores.
“We now await ROL’s for our many Spiritleaf franchise partners in Ontario, who have been training and preparing to launch their retail cannabis businesses and serve their local communities.
“We currently have more than 20 corporate and franchise stores expected to open in Ontario in 2020, depending on when ROL’s are secured for the franchise partners and when RSA’s are granted.
“The Spiritleaf brand and its local ownership franchise model have proven to create a loyal customer following in the communities we serve. We plan to grow our footprint in Ontario using the same dedication and focus we’ve brought to our other markets across Canada,” he said.
Inner Spirit is in the last stages of completing a transaction to acquire an existing Spiritleaf-branded store in Kingston, Ontario.
That store has been operating under a retail agreement with an Ontarian lottery winner and ROL holder since April 2019. In its first twelve months of operation, the Kingston store generated over C$7.7 million in retail sales.
Inner Spirit’s acquisition transaction should be complete on or around June 1, 2020. The company expects to open several more corporate and franchise cannabis stores across Canada this year.
Inner Spirit is up 4.35 per cent, and is currently trading for 12 cents per share, as of 1:15pm EDT.