Spiritleaf Kingston Cannabis Retail Store Opening in Ontario Market on April 1
March 29, 2019
Calgary, Alberta (March 29, 2019) – Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. (“Inner Spirit” or “the Company”) (CSE:ISH) is pleased to announce that a Spiritleaf cannabis retail store is set to open at 27 Princess Street in the historic Smith Robinson building in Kingston, Ontario on Monday, April 1. The store is being operated by Daniel Telio, one of the initial 25 cannabis retail lottery winners in the province of Ontario as selected by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“AGCO”) and is one of the first stores approved to operate in the province.
“We are very pleased that Daniel is opening the first Spiritleaf store in Ontario in Kingston on the opening day for private cannabis retailers in the province. This initial store in Ontario is an important milestone for the Company, and we look forward to the opening of additional locations across the country to continue delivering on our national retail strategy so strongly supported by our customers, employees, franchise partners and shareholders,” said Darren Bondar, President and CEO of Inner Spirit.
“The collaboration between the Spiritleaf team and Mr. Telio to get the store ready and open for operation in just 75 days is a testament to our experience and ability to execute our business program. As the supply chain improves, we look forward to getting our first wave of 75 premium stores open across Canada and solidify our place as an iconic and leading Canadian cannabis retailer.”
Bondar also noted the Company will celebrate the Kingston opening by making a $5,000 donation to The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund for reconciliation efforts in the country, as part of Spiritleaf’s pledge as Legacy Space Partner with the goal of providing accurate information regarding Indigenous history and the journey of reconciliation. The donation will be made at a private event to Mike and Patrick Downie and Bear Standing Tall will be in attendance to bless the store and represent the Indigenous community at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Official inauguration will be proclaimed by Kingston’s world champion Town Crier and Goodwill Ambassador, Chris Whyman at 9:00 am ET on April 1.
Spiritleaf and Mr. Telio are preparing the Princess Street location and its staff to be ready to welcome a large turnout of cannabis consumers expected on day one. The store is a partnership between Inner Spirit’s wholly owned subsidiary Spirit Leaf Inc. (“Spirit Leaf”) and Mr. Telio, through a brand licensing arrangement approved by AGCO. Under the terms of the partnership, the Company agreed to issue 5,000,000 Inner Spirit common shares to Mr. Telio at a deemed price of $0.20 per share based on the original date of the agreement.
Inner Sprit has five Spiritleaf retail franchise stores open and operating in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Spiritleaf franchise partners are preparing to open additional locations across the country, subject to gaining final municipal and provincial approvals. Spiritleaf corporate outlets are also being prepared for openings across Alberta.
About Inner Spirit
Inner Spirit is establishing a chain of recreational cannabis stores under its Spiritleaf brand. Supporting local entrepreneurs by applying its award-winning franchise and retail models, Inner Spirit has more than 100 franchise agreements in place for potential Spiritleaf locations and also plans to operate corporate outlets in certain jurisdictions. Developing a diverse portfolio of quality and curated lifestyle cannabis products – including Spiritleaf’s own locally sourced lines – Spiritleaf is positioned to be an iconic Canadian brand and the most trusted source for recreational cannabis. More information can be found on Inner Spirit’s website at www.innerspiritholdings.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements and information that, to the extent that they are not historical fact, may constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include financial and other projections, as well as statements regarding future plans, objectives or economic performance, or the assumption underlying any of the foregoing. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “likely”, “except”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “project”, “estimate”, “outlook”, “potential”, or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the objectives and business plans of the Company; the establishment of recreational cannabis stores in Canada; the receipt of necessary licenses and permits to open recreational cannabis stores and the timing thereof; the opening of a Spiritleaf retail cannabis store in Kingston, Ontario; the issuance of common shares to Mr. Telio; the issuance of additional retail cannabis licenses by the Government of Ontario starting in December 2019; the intention of the Company to open, or license others the right to open, Spiritleaf retail cannabis stores in Ontario; the opening of Spiritleaf-branded franchise and corporate retail cannabis stores in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia; and the intention to grow the Company’s business and operations. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks, including but not limited to, the risk that additional stores may not open due to national retail cannabis supply issues; the risk that the Spiritleaf recreational cannabis store intended to be opened in Kingston, Ontario does not open as anticipated or at all; the risk that the Company or its franchisees are not able to open additional retail cannabis stores in Canada or in Ontario; and other factors outside of the Company’s control. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors and risks is not exhaustive. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking information addresses future events and conditions, by its very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking information and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.
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