Following approval by Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) shareholders to merge with Aphria, there were many reasons for optimism. With its immense scale, the combined entity was expected to generate US$81 million in annual pre-tax cost saving synergies before the end of fiscal year 2022, along with affording it the largest global geographic footprint in the industry. It’s position in Canada—particularly on the medical side—would be greatly enhanced.
But there were also some important questions left unanswered. Perhaps the biggest of those was the future of the Aphria name, which is most prominently branded on the medical side of their product portfolio.
Fortunately for nostalgic Aphria consumers and investors, the name will not die even if its corporate identity has transformed.
Admittedly, Tilray CFO Carl Merton was taken aback by the “nostalgia” associated with the name presence of his former company. But as Carl explains, the Aphria name will live on in Canada, as will an assortment of brand recognizable recreational products that are some of the most popular in the nation:
There’s a lot of people who mistakenly believe that Aphria is going to disappear. And, and there was a lot of nostalgia—a lot more nostalgia than I honestly anticipated for Aphria. But, you know, we’re happy to say we’re going to keep the Aphria name alive in Canada as part of the combination. We’re keeping the Aphria medical brand alive. And we’re keeping all of our recreational brands. So it’s, you know, Aphria isn’t disappearing—the corporate name has just changed to Tilray.
Carl also explains the driving factor behind the new entity’s decision to keep the Tilray corporate name. Mainly, the “cache” and weight Tilray carries with cannabis consumers in the U.S. appears to have tipped the scales. Obviously, with big ambitions to enter the U.S. when federally permissible, the company decided that maintaining brand identity in a market that dwarfs Canada made the most sense.
Click on the embedded link for more of our newest interview with Tilray CFO Carl Merton, in his own words.
