Past Mistakes Haunt Canadian Cannabis Industry

Advocate calls for attitude adjustment

Marc Kealey, chief advocate at business advisory firm Kealey & Associates, told INN he thinks the Canadian cannabis industry wasn't prepared for the reality of going to market.

“There was tons and tons and tons of commentary out there that was just really to shore up your share price,” Kealey said, referring to the "green rush" seen in the capital markets leading up to and following the legalization of adult sales in Canada. During that time he saw mischaracterizations and mistakes across the board.

There was a certain bluster about the industry and its leading players back then that in his opinion was unearned —however, that is changing now, at least to some extent. “I'm seeing a bit of that we're getting out of that arrogance that the industry had for the longest period of time,” Kealey told INN.

The advisor explained that the cannabis industry's need for an attitude adjustment correlates directly to the modern challenges the sector hopes to address by way of aid from the government.

“If we're going to get the government to take this seriously, we have to act a little differently than we're doing right now, and I haven't really seen that,” Kealey told INN.

Industry leaders call on government to step up

As Canadian cannabis operators face increased pressure, thought leaders have called for a unified approach to lobby the government for meaningful changes that, they argue, will prop the industry back up.

“I think the need for change has become more urgent,” Trina Fraser, a partner at the law firm Brazeau Seller, previously told INN. “If we come together, if we present a clear, cogent case for change as a collective voice, the government is listening. And if it aligns with the government objectives, we will see changes made.”

The call for a joint cause has been aggrandized by the Cannabis Council of Canada, an association representing the interests of licensed cannabis companies in the country.

Some of the changes the industry wants to see from the government relate to product limits in terms of the excise tax on cannabis products, advertising rules and substance restrictions.

“Here we are more than two — almost two and a half years — since edibles have become legal, and we have a half-billion-dollar market failure because we're missing out,” Niel Marotta, president and CEO of Indiva (TSXV:NDVA,OTCQX:NDVAF), told INN.

Overproduction leads to waste pile-up

One way past mistakes are rearing their ugly head is through the actual waste the industry has produced.

New data from Health Canada shows that 425 million grams of cannabis were destroyed last year as part of waste from unsold products. What's more, since the opening of adult-use legalization in Canada in 2018, nearly 900 million grams of dried cannabis have been destroyed. The waste is directly tied to the rush of the financial rewards cannabis companies received by prioritizing and touting grow capacity.

“It all comes down to these very large (licensed producers) that had huge balance sheets available to them — they could just go out there, buy the biggest greenhouses and start churning as much product as they could, and then start buying up competitors and warehousing their products as well,” Nawan Butt previously told INN.

According to Butt, who is a portfolio manager with Purpose Investments, a lack of proper forecasting and understanding of the Canadian consumer have cost the country's cannabis industry millions of grams in losses.

What’s ahead for the Canadian pool of players?

In an interview with INN, Charlie Bowman, president and CEO of HEXO (NASDAQ:HEXO,TSX:HEXO), didn’t shy away from talking about mistakes in the industry, including those made by his own firm.

“The cannabis industry is a unique one in that what was selling two years ago doesn’t sell at all today,” the HEXO executive said. He took the helm at the company earlier this year.

Bowman celebrated the way HEXO has been able to realign itself to the market and its demands, but said that has come with cost-saving measures that have resulted in the dismissal of staff.

The company's mission to clean up its balance sheet includes the decision to form an interesting financial partnership with Tilray Brands (NASDAQ:TLRY,TSX:TLRY).

“It’s allowed us to be reset,” Bowman said of the deal, which resulted in Tilray now owning senior secured convertible notes issued by HEXO; the conversion price of the notes gives Tilray the right to convert into about 48 percent of the outstanding common stock of HEXO.

Cost-saving approaches like the ones taken by HEXO have spread like wildfire among Canadian cannabis operators in an attempt to stay lean and steady. But the reality is that market advisors see a near future in which more cannabis producers in the country will continue to struggle financially.

“We're very concerned that ultimately, some of these names can disappear. There might be bankruptcies,” Charles Taerk, president and CEO of Faircourt Asset Management, previously told INN.

Investor takeaway

Dwindling sales and a downturn in sentiment are affecting the Canadian cannabis market, and so far producers have largely fallen short when it comes to recouping losses born out of earlier mistakes.

The biggest players in the market have fallen out of grace with some investors, and now these companies will have to perform to gain back the market's trust on a broader level.