Dive Brief:
- Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K, and cannabis retailer Fire & Flower Holdings have opened a cannabis store adjacent to a Circle K in Brampton, Ontario, according to a Thursday announcement.
- This marks the third Fire & Flower-owned cannabis store to open adjacent to a Circle K in Canada. The first two debuted in Calgary and Grand Prairie, Alberta, in July 2020.
- Fire & Flower plans to have a total of 10 Circle K co-located stores within the next year, said Stéphane Trudel, CEO of Fire & Flower, in the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Fire & Flower’s new cannabis store showcases a “convenience cannabis store model” and expands on the products and services already offered by Circle K, such as fuel, car wash, food, snacks and more, according to the announcement.
Spark Perks, Fire & Flower’s loyalty program, offers members a number of benefits, including member pricing on top products both in store and via online orders. With the new co-located store, Spark Perks loyalty members and Circle K customers can leverage the digital retail platform licensed to Circle K, which allows for quick and easy pickup, according to the announcement.
"This convenience-based shopping model is a major step change in the industry and provides a competitive advantage for both Fire & Flower and Circle K in the transformation of the cannabis consumer shopping experience," said Trudel.
Fire & Flower and Couche-Tard first joined forces in July 2019 when Couche-Tard made a CA$26 million investment in the cannabis retailer, giving Couche-Tard about 10% ownership of the company. At the time of the investment, Circle K president and CEO Brian Hannasch said the move would enable the c-store retailer to accelerate its journey in the “new and flourishing” cannabis sector.
In December 2021, Fire & Flower took a CA$30 million loan from Couche-Tard to further develop its consumer digital platform. This past June, the cannabis retailer hired Trudel, who had been a VP at Couche-Tard for more than five years, as its CEO.
