LEADING North American cannabis retailer High Tide has unveiled plans to establish a High Street footprint in the emerging adult-use German market.
High Tide Founder, President, CEO & Executive Chairman Raj Grover said talks are in an advanced stage with a number of potential German partners.
“Our intention is to establish a brick and mortar High Street footprint in Germany as soon as federal legalisation takes place. Our aim is to be in there ASAP and to become one of the market leaders.
“We are the largest non-franchised retailers with 140 locations in Canada and we are keeping a very keen eye on German legislation. We are very excited to be able to bring our retail store Canna Cabana concept to Germany,” said Mr Grover in an interview with BusinessCann.
With further details of the nature of Germany’s adult-use legislation due over the coming weeks High Tide is one of a number of North American players hatching plans for what will be the world’s largest cannabis market – see below.
Two Paths To Germany
Mr Grover says it is exploring two potential paths through which to fulfil its ambitions.
“We will either do it 100% by ourselves or form a partnership with a strategic cannabis player in Germany as a joint venture.”
In respect to the latter option, and, after attending the recent ICBC conference in Berlin, Mr Grover says it is in discussions with at least a ‘dozen potential partners’ with three to four of these ‘already in the retail space’.
He added: “We have talked to many major stakeholders, in a variety of fields from retail, cultivation, R&D to strategy and capital. There is lots of interest from German companies wanting to work with us.
“We have no interest in pursuing the medical cannabis path. Our aim is to establish a bricks and mortar footprint and we are waiting for further details on what the rules will be.
“Our intention is to be in Germany. It is a critical market for us. Based on what we see in the first draft our intention is to be able to operate as quickly as possible.”
He went on to say that it understands that Germany is going to allow international market participants.
Well-known German cannabis lawyer Kai-Friedrich Niermann who co-authored a paper in 2021 on German cannabis legalisation with Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs – who is drafting its cannabis laws – believes there will be few restrictions governing the establishing of High Street stores.
He told BusinessCann that two of the three Traffic-light Coalition partners – the Greens and the SPD – are taking a ‘liberal approach’ to licensing.
“In all likelihood, there will be no caps, so that cannabis retail stores are likely to be licensed in sufficient numbers, even in the inner cities,” he said.
