Hefty markups, competition among the challenges, say shop owners
Evergreen Cannabis was one of Vancouver’s first two legal pot shops to open that day. There was a lineup around the block and no shortage of enthusiasm from customers.
“It was the first time we had to get a velvet rope to hold the crowd back, and I felt the significance of the velvet rope as a big deal to me,” he recalled.
But times have changed. Many cannabis shops in B.C. have come and gone throughout the course of the first five years of legalization. Owners like Babins say competition is fierce, with many shops fighting over market share.
Many private retailers complain they’re being undercut by government-operated B.C. Cannabis Stores (BCCS), which offer razor-thin, unsustainable margins.
A 15-per-cent wholesale markup on cannabis products charged to retailers by B.C.'s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) continues to eat away at profit margins.
One gram of concentrate is around $40-$50 in a store. Or, if you have enough money to buy in bulk, $15 online.
Stores are aimed at people who are new to weed, who don’t understand they are getting robbed. It makes sense that there are less of these people now - the ones who wanted to try it briefly already have, and the ones who got into it after legalization are probably starting to realize that there are other options.
Maybe it’s a creeper boom.
Better than a boomer creep
