From the Star Company to South Park to Maybe Closing, MedMen is making headlines
Founded by Adam Bierman, MedMen took off and quickly became a darling in the booming cannabis industry. With smart, handsome leaders, they weaved a story of growth, honesty, and success. Positioned as the Apple of Weed, they engulfed retail space in California and editorial space in Esquire, Vice, Vanity Fair and more.
This week, SFGate, a favorite Bay Area newspaper, reported that they are on the verge of collapse. How did it happen?
Founded in 2010 by Adam Berman and Andrew Medlin, they saw an opportunity to redefine society’s relationship with cannabis. The vision was clear from the start – to become “the apple” of marijuana dispensaries. The company’s marketing efforts were initially successful, helping to introduce and educate previously suspicious customers, including older crowds, to the cannabis revolution.
In 2018, MedMen West Hollywood was one of the first retail cannabis stores to open in California after the state’s recreational cannabis laws went into effect. That same year, it opened a fancy store on Fifth Avenue in NYC. High rent for a state that wasn’t legal yet and the store never lived up to its potential. Industry veterans scratched their heads over the move.
MedMen went public in Canada in 2018, raising $110 million at a valuation of $1.65 billion. The stock traded at more than $6 per share in 2018, but is now worth less than $0.014, with a Canadian market cap of $19.5 million.
RELATED: Consumers Reveal Industry Potential in 4/20 Marijuana Sales
Photo courtesy of MedMen
By 2019, the company’s management and leadership had not been going as well as expected. South Park featured MedMen in 2 episodes, not one. Medmen and their leadership joined Andrew Tate, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Tom Cruise and others in what former FOX news anchor Megyn Kelly says, “When South Park turns you on, there’s no turning back.”
The company made aggressive moves under Bierman’s leadership that didn’t pan out as MedMen had hoped. They were aiming to become the country’s largest marijuana company when it attempted a huge blockbuster merger with cannabis producer Pharmacann. That deal was mutually terminated by the two companies last October, signaling the current upheaval in the cannabis industry.
The company has over $137 million more in debt than assets with just $15 million in cash, according to a financial statement released last week. MedMen said in its disclosure that there were “significant doubts” about its ability to pay its bills for next year.
RELATED: Want to work in marijuana? Here are some tips
Bierman resigned from the company in a chaotic court case, but significantly lost his influence as a shareholder. Bierman has agreed to relinquish his Super Voting Class A shares, the company announced in a press release, giving him more power than other shareholders.
Post a comment: