New Brunswick’s cannabis sales see slight improvement ahead of ‘system reset’

New Brunswick cannabsi

The deadline to submit a proposal for the right to operate New Brunswick's recreational cannabis retail model is Jan. 10.

New Brunswick’s adult-use cannabis sales surpassed 26 million Canadian dollars ($20 million) for April 1-Dec. 1, 2019, according to recently released data on the province’s tenders portal.

That means New Brunswick’s second-half sales (CA$17 million, not including December) are on pace to surpass first-half receipts, which totaled CA$18.8 for January-March and April-June, respectively.

Consumers continued to show a clear preference for making purchases in physical stores.

Between April and December, only CA$398,000 worth of adult-use cannabis was sold via Cannabis NB’s online portal, representing about 1.5% of total sales.

Individual transactions ranged from 5,074 online orders to 75,566 transactions at the Moncton location on Main Street.

The improved sales figures come as New Brunswick looks to hit the reset button on how adult-use cannabis is sold.

The deadline is later this week, Jan. 10, to submit a proposal for the right to operate New Brunswick’s recreational cannabis retail, wholesale and e-commerce businesses.

“This is not a sale of the existing business, Cannabis NB, but rather the sale of the rights to operate recreational cannabis retail, wholesale/distribution and e-commerce in the Province of New Brunswick on an exclusive basis over a period of 10 years with two five-year renewal periods,” the RFP document noted.

Cannabis NB also said it employed 215 people, including full and part time, occasional as well as salaried employees.

Compensation for salaried employees ranged from CA$46,050 to CA$139,150 annually. Three salaries exceeded CA$100,000 per year.

New Brunswick anticipates executing an agreement on a new retail model by July 3.

If a proponent is chosen to run the new system, it will not be required to maintain all 20 outlets.

Cannabis NB’s store leases expire in 2033.

Matt Lamers is Marijuana Business Daily’s international editor, based near Toronto. He can be reached at mattl@mjbizdaily.com.