VANCOUVER, May 14, 2018 /CNW/ - INVICTUS MD STRATEGIES
CORP. ("Invictus" or the "Company") (TSXV: GENE; OTC: IVITF; FRA:
8IS1) is pleased to announce the company's multi-pronged retail
strategy, an approach to distributing and selling cannabis that
involves the ownership of dispensaries and partnerships with
leading retail outlets nationwide. Invictus' multifaceted sales
strategy aimed to target each channel for sales and distribution
fits squarely within the company's seed-to-sale, vertically
integrated business model, which consist of establishing supply
agreements and product calls with provincial governments and
licensed producers, developing retail storefronts across
Western Canada, and continued
focus on the medical cannabis sector.
The company's retail efforts are led by Acreage Pharms' CEO,
Trevor Dixon, who prior to becoming
a part of Invictus, spent more than two decades building a highly
successful traditional franchise conglomerate with stores in more
than 50 cities across Canada.
Trevor's extensive experience in traditional retail strategy guides
the Company's pursuit of prime dispensary locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Company has also hired a
talented group of consultants with specialized experience in real
estate and retail, including opening chains of retail
locations. In addition to dispensary locations and smart
partnerships, store design with an intense focus on customer
experience stands as another foundation of the retail branding
strategy.
In addition, Invictus Chief Evangelist Officer Gene Simmons, one of the founders of the seminal
rock 'n' roll band KISS and a lifelong serial entrepreneur, will
offer insight and guidance. Gene's successes in traditional retail
environments are profound, with literally thousands of licensing
agreements as well as a chain of restaurants, among other
commercial achievements. Gene will be heavily involved in Invictus'
retail strategy.
"We have devoted more than 18 months to building a savvy and
committed team, gaining key licenses, erecting state-of-the-art
structures designed for the cultivation and production of cannabis
products, and crafting a high-quality and extensive portfolio of
cannabis strains. Now we are directing the same levels of expertise
and hard work towards the last step in the process — sales," said
Invictus Founder and CEO Dan Kriznic. "As we stated from the day we
founded Invictus, we aim to become Canada's Cannabis Company. And ensuring that
consumers not only gain easy access to excellent cannabis, but also
enjoy and appreciate their shopping experiences, stands as a key
brand promise."
Invictus retail locations will offer consumers refined shopping
experiences in spaces evocative of Canada's natural beauty, with natural woods,
open floor plans and tasteful lighting. Retail staff will receive
extensive training, and will use iPads as well as their own
knowledge to help guide customers through the cannabis shopping
experience.
Invictus' sales strategy involves the pursuit of supply
agreements and product calls with provincial governments in
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Territories; and securing
large-scale product calls and supply agreements, as well as smaller
"craft" agreements.
One premiere sales partnership, with Canopy Growth's curated
CraftGrow line on Tweed Main Street's online stores, is up and
running, with sales of Invictus' AB Labs' cannabis now taking place
through the virtual marketplace. Invictus looks forward to more
successful and targeted partnerships where suitable.
As mentioned, the Company has founded a dispensary business and
is actively pursuing retail permits and leases for retail
storefronts that meet both provincial regulations and municipal
bylaws. Invictus' plan is to secure and license a base target of at
minimum 20 retail storefronts with 9 in Alberta, 7 in Saskatchewan and 4 in British Columbia - in time for the
legalization of the adult market.
Rules for retail distribution differ between each province and
territory. For now, Invictus is targeting British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
British Columbia
- The Province permits local governments to decide whether or not
non-medical dispensaries will be allowed. Those seeking to open
dispensaries must apply to and gain approval from both the Province
and the local government.
Alberta
- The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission oversee the
application process. Prior to granting a license, the AGLC requires
municipal approval for the proposed dispensary.
Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority will initially
issue 51 cannabis retail permits across 32 municipalities and First
Nations. Communities with populations of 2,500 or greater will be
eligible for cannabis retail permitting, but communities will have
the ability to opt out.
- The SLGA will use a two-phase process for selecting operators.
First, applicants must respond to an RFP that screens for financial
capacity as well as the ability to track and report cannabis
inventory. Phase II will involve a random lottery selection of
qualified applicants.
- Applicants that fulfill the requirements of the RFP and are
selected in the lottery can then complete the full application
process.
In anticipation of a strong consumer marketplace for both
medical and recreational cannabis, Invictus' Acreage Pharms, in
Alberta, now includes a customer
call centre within its Phase 2 facility, which will process orders
from medical patients, governmental bodies, licensed producers and
private retailers.
"We are working on multiple fronts, including everything from
horticulture to licensing to construction, real estate leasing and
distribution partnerships, to cultivate and sell an outstanding
portfolio of cannabis products across 2018," said Kriznic. "The
whole Invictus team is thrilled that we are meeting calendar and
quality benchmarks, and eager to continue achieving triumphs as we
march through this historic year."
About Invictus
Invictus owns and operates cannabis companies in Canada with the vision of producing a variety
of high quality and low cost cannabis products and strains to the
global market place as regulations permit. Gene Simmons, music legend and media mogul,
conveys the vision of Invictus as the Chief Evangelist Officer.
Invictus operates two cannabis production sites under the Access
to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR") in
Canada and has over 95,000 square
feet of cannabis production capacity at the licensed production
sites. The Company's wholly owned subsidiary Acreage Pharms
Ltd. ("Acreage Pharms"), located in West-Central Alberta on
150 acres, has approximately 40,000 square feet of cannabis ready
production with its recently completed Phase 2 expansion. The
Company intends on expanding to 120,000 square feet by the end of
2018 once Phase 3 is complete.
Invictus also owns 50% of AB Laboratories Inc. ("AB
Labs"), a licensed producer under the ACMPR located in
Hamilton, Ontario. AB Labs
currently operates in a 16,000 square foot facility and recently
acquired a facility adjacent to the existing property that will
allow for a total of 56,000 square feet of cultivation space
expected to be ready for production by June
2018. During the first quarter of 2018 AB Labs submitted a
secondary license to Health Canada for a nearby property on 100
acres under the name AB Ventures Inc. ("AB Ventures").
Combined, the licensed producers owned by Invictus expect to
have approximately 200,000 square feet of cannabis production
capacity by the end of 2018 and 520,000 square feet of cannabis
production capacity by the end of 2019.
In addition to the ACMPR licenses, the Company has an 82.5%
investment in Future Harvest Development Ltd. a high quality
Fertilizer and Nutrients manufacturer based in Kelowna, British Columbia that has been in
operation for over 20 years under the brand Plant Life Products and
Holland Secret.
For more information, please visit www.invictus-md.com.
On Behalf of the Board,
Dan Kriznic
Chairman & CEO
Larry Heinzlmeir
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
604-537-8676
In the United States
Terry Wills
twills@willscom.com
310-877-1458
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This
release includes certain statements and information that may
constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities laws or forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release,
other than statements of historical facts, including statements
regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions
or expectations of future performance, including the development of
additional cannabis strains, the potential production capacity of
AB Labs, AB Ventures and Acreage Pharms, the completion of AB
Ventures and Acreage Pharms' production facilities, the granting of
regulatory approval and anticipated timing of AB Labs reaching full
production capacity, the granting of AB Labs secondary license, the
granting of a sales license under the ACMPR to Acreage Pharms,
expected sales of inventory and the legalization of the
recreational use of marijuana in Canada in 2018 are forward-looking statements
and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking
statements and information can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or
"occur". Forward-looking statements are based on certain material
assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and
estimates of management as of the date of this press release,
including that Acreage Pharms will be successful in developing
additional cannabis strains, that AB Labs will be successful in
reaching its potential production capacity on the timeline expected
by the Company, AB Ventures and Acreage Pharms' production
facilities will be completed as anticipated, regulatory approval
will be granted as anticipated, AB Labs will reach full production
capacity on the timeline anticipated by the Company, AB Labs will
be granted its secondary license on the terms and timeline
anticipated by the Company, no unforeseen construction delays will
be experienced, Acreage Pharms will be granted its sales license
under the ACMPR on the terms and timeline anticipated by the
Company, expected sales of inventory will be met and the
legalization of the recreational use of marijuana in Canada will occur as expected. These
forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements or forward-looking information.
Important factors that may cause actual results to vary, include,
without limitation, Acreage Pharms will not be successful in
developing additional cannabis strains or, if developed, such
strains will not have the benefits anticipated by the Company, AB
Labs will not be successful in reaching its potential production
capacity, AB Ventures and Acreage Pharms' production facilities
will not be completed as anticipated, construction delays,
regulatory approval will not be granted as anticipated and
therefore, the anticipated timing of AB Labs reaching full
production capacity will be delayed, AB Labs not be granted their
secondary license, Acreage Pharms will not be granted its
sales license under the ACMPR, licenses or approvals being granted
on terms or timelines that are materially worse than expected by
the Company, expected sales of inventory will not be met and the
legalization of the recreational use of marijuana in Canada will not occur at all or as expected.
Although management of the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can
be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on
such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The
Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement,
forward-looking information or financial out-look that are
incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with
applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/invictus-pursues-aggressive-retail-strategy-including-dispensary-ownership-and-sales-in-multiple-provinces-and-territories-300647181.html
SOURCE Invictus MD Strategies