MedMen Enterprises Inc., a Culver City-based cannabis retailer, launched a Cannasseur Personal Concierge Service this month at its California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida dispensaries.

The complimentary service is led by “seasoned budtenders” and aims to provide customers with one-on-one consultations on product recommendations, “tailored to their personal needs and desires,” Chief Revenue Officer Tracy McCourt said in a statement.

 

The concierge service announcement comes shortly after the company opened a 4,725-square-foot store in Boston’s Fenway Park area — its first location in Massachusetts. The launches reflect a company in growth mode following a challenging period of changes to its executive leadership and business model.

MedMen operates 12 stores in California, three in Nevada, one in Illinois and one in Arizona, seven in Florida and four in New York, for a total of 29.

The company’s California operations accounted for $23.3 million in sales during the second quarter of its fiscal 2022, which ended Dec. 25, 2021, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week.

MedMen’s stores in Nevada and Florida brought in $3.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively, while revenue from its dispensaries in Illinois and Arizona produced $4.1 million each.  

The company’s total revenue for the quarter was $39.1 million, a 20% increase from the three months that ended Dec. 26, 2020. MedMen attributed the uptick to initiatives that helped it recover from the pandemic’s effect on business and occupancy restrictions, such as elevating product offerings, revamping its pricing and assortment strategy, and focusing on increasing retail traffic.

 

“Specifically in California, where retail revenue increased $3.6 million during the current period compared to the prior year quarter, the company saw increased engagement through its customer relationship strategy and focused on marketing and advertising initiatives as Covid-19 restrictions began to lift,” the company wrote in documents filed with the SEC. “In addition, revenue in Arizona increased $2.5 million compared to the three months ended Dec. 26, 2020, as a result of the company’s focus on driving retail traffic after the statewide transition to adult use during the spring of calendar year 2021.”

MedMen also narrowed its losses from $60.6 million to $20.4 million, “primarily due to the increase revenue and gross profit” and “changes in the provision for income taxes,” according to the company.  

Delivering the goodsIn Florida, MedMen launched same-day and next-day delivery to customers living near its St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, South Beach and Orlando locations.

“Our goal is to provide Florida’s medical cannabis patients with a higher standard of care, and we see delivery as an extension of our unparalleled customer service experience,” Interim Chief Executive Michael Serruya said in a statement. “We are always looking for ways to make high-quality cannabis products more accessible and convenient for patients.”

Serruya took over for Tom Lynch in November, who was MedMen’s interim chief executive since 2020. Lynch also served as head of the Boston office for downtown-based SierraConstellation Partners and was promoted in January to serve as the advisory firm’s president and chief operating officer.

 

Serruya meanwhile joined MedMen’s board of directors in August 2021 as part of a $100 million investment in the company by Ontario, Canada-based Serruya Private Equity Inc. “to expand its operations in key markets and identify and accelerate further growth opportunities,” according to a statement announcing his appointment.

“We want to thank Tom for his leadership over the past 20 months as he’s led a successful and disciplined turnaround plan, which has left us well positioned for accelerated growth as MedMen 2.0,” Serruya said in a statement. “Our focus now is taking this company to the next level as we seek to leverage the strength of the MedMen brand and consumer experience in order to expand it across the United States, Canada and internationally.”

At the same time Serruya joined MedMen’s board of directors, cannabis company Tilray Inc. in Toronto, Canada, acquired $165.8 million of MedMen’s debt from Gotham Green Partners in New York. The maturity date on debt was extended to 2028.

 

Cultivation up in smokeAdam Bierman cofounded MedMen with Andrew Modlin in 2010. The duo left the company in January 2020. Their original plan when they founded the company was to operate dispensaries in Los Angeles.

 

In 2013 they shifted to providing management expertise to licensed growers, manufacturers and retailers.

Five years later they acquired Bloomfield Industries Inc., which was licensed to grow and distribute medical marijuana in the state of New York. Bierman and Modlin also operated a dispensary in West Hollywood as well as a dispensary and indoor cultivation facilities in Sun Valley.

 

In 2018 the company went public via reverse merger with Ladera Ventures Corp., raising nearly $110 million through a private placement. Its shares began trading on Canadian Securities Exchange at a valuation of $1.65 billion. At the time it operated 18 dispensaries in California, Nevada and New York. Its local footprint included stores in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice and Los Angeles International Airport.

As the company’s leadership and focus shifted in the last few years, it moved away from cultivation.

 

MedMen no longer operates its cultivation and production facilities in Desert Hot Springs and Sparks, Nev. Instead, in October it set up a “cash flow accretive partnership” with Foundry Works Inc.

 

The Bell Gardens-based company has agreed to sublease and operate the two facilities, a move that will help MedMen “reduce the significant fixed costs.”