We’re Coming for Flower: SLANG Worldwide Chris Driessen on Cannabis Expansion

Last month, when we hosted SLANG Worldwide CEO Chris Driessen, he gave us some great investor intel on the company’s early plans for 2021. Joining us back again on The Dales Report, Driessen is here to give us updates on SLANG Worldwide’s progress with ACG, the strategic partnerships, and how things are going with cannabis sales in Canada.

Here’s a few highlights from the interview.

The industry still healthy, and fiscal reports look good despite the soft industry

Last week, SLANG announced a record fiscal year and quarterly revenue, along with some other exciting developments, and Driessen says the company is just beginning to hit its stride. “Things are going to be a little lumpy with profits over the next few quarters as we obviously identify synergies, coordinate different pieces of these acquisitions,” he cautions, “but we’re trending in the right direction.”

February, he acknowledges, was “frothy” for many companies in the cannabis space. And there’s ongoing frustrations with federal policy and the delays coming from the political arena. Still, the ups and downs are a great opportunity for investors.

Allied Concession Group still yet to be finalized

Driessen acknowledges the setbacks SLANG has had in its acquisition process of ACG, despite the hope that it would be finalized by the end of Q1. The City of Boulder, CO, is giving them “a heck of a time” but the regulation application is still at the end of its process, and Driessen says there’s no change in the company’s appetite to get that done.

Michigan is going to be “a great market” for SLANG, says Driessen

Last year, Michigan cannabis company Gage Cannabis announced a partnership with SLANG Worldwide, and the process will be bearing fruit before the end of 2021. Gage Cannabis currently operates 7 stores in Michigan and anticipates having as many as 20 more stores open by the end of the year.

Driessen says that SLANG was hoping to be in their dispensaries for Q2, but it will more likely be Q3. It’ll be worth the wait; he says there’s a “staggering number” of tourists who go to Michigan, and he anticipates that the market will be great.

SLANG success due to downstream support, says Driessen

For investors who aren’t familiar with SLANG, Driessen says that the downstream support is what sets his company apart in the cannabis space. Unlike most companies, when they license you their brand, he says, they give you “a pretty box and a few marketing assets and they say good luck; send me my cheque when you need to order more packaging.”

SLANG does so much more than that, he says – they seek to provide value to their licensees in a number of ways. The real magic, he insists, is the inside sales team. He gives the example of the Firefly Mini, recently launched in Canada, which didn’t sell a single product in December. However last week, it was the #1 selling disposable in Canada.

The inside sales team provides a comprehensive approach, establishing relationships, educating purchasing managers, helping them order from provincial distributors, and more. “We’re going to continue to invest in that growth,” Driessen says.