Société québécoise du cannabis opens its 100th store

The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) opened its 100th store in Richelieu, a small town just outside Montreal.

This latest expansion reflects the crown corporation's ongoing efforts to improve customer experience and accessibility, while aiming to increase share of the legal cannabis market in Quebec.

A new approach to cannabis retailing

The new Richelieu store is part of a broader strategy by the SQDC aimed at making cannabis purchases more user-friendly and accessible. Covering an area of 250m², the Richelieu branch features a new approach to product presentation by introducing a display system based on product categories.

This approach contrasts with the traditional method of organizing products by species, such as sativa, indica and hybrids. According to Alexander Bove, Real Estate Director at SQDC, The design favors user-friendliness, with several display islands added to the sales area to better showcase the product offering.

Alexander Bove points out that « display by product category is a new way of presenting cannabis products to our customers, including pre-rolls, oils edibles and large formats». This reorganization aims to simplify the shopping experience, making it easier for customers to navigate and find the right products. products that best meet their needs.

Expanding our reach in Quebec

The Richelieu store is the first of its kind in the town, which has a population of around 6,000. Prior to its opening, residents had to travel to neighboring towns, such as Saint-Bruno, to purchase legal cannabis products. The opening of this store not only brings convenience to the local community, but is also part of the goal of SQDC to fill market gaps and making legal cannabis more accessible across Quebec.

In recent years, the SQDC slowed the pace of new store openings, The focus is on improving the quality of the shopping experience and expanding the product offering. However, the Crown corporation still plans to open some 20 new stores in the province over the next two to three years, including nine in the current fiscal year. The Richelieu store is the third to open this year as part of this new expansion plan.

Financial impact and market share

The SQDC has seen a steady increase in sales and profits, making a significant contribution to Quebec's provincial revenues. During the last fiscal year, the company reported sales of over 660 million euros, an increase of 10% on the previous year. These sales translated into a net profit of 104.1 million euros, with 217.3 million euros in taxes collected, of which 154.7 million were paid to the provincial government.

The company's growing financial success is not just the result of reflecting growing consumer demand, but also of its efforts to capture a larger share of the market at the expense of illegal cannabis operators.

Alban Troja, Director of Operations SQDC, noted that some 63% of cannabis consumers in Quebec have switched from the illegal market to legal outlets such as the SQDC. «We still have a way to go, but we've converted 63 % of consumers from the illegal to the legal market. So, you know, that's more than the majority,» Troja noted.

Looking ahead : Challenges and opportunities

Despite its achievements, the SQDC faces ongoing challenges in the highly competitive and regulated cannabis market. One of the Company's main objectives for the future is to continue to take market share from illegal cannabis dealers, an area where significant progress has been made but where there's still work to be done.

Another challenge is to ensure that the revenues generated by cannabis sales are actually used for prevention, research and the fight against the negative effects associated with the use of psychoactive substances.

The SQDC pays $258.8 million to Québec in 2023, an increase over the previous year. However, the allocation and effectiveness of these funds are coming under increasing scrutiny, particularly with regard to the province's claims that these revenues are earmarked for public health initiatives.

The SQDC also plans to further diversify its product offering, focusing on newer options such as edibles, concentrates and beverages. These products are gaining in popularity and represent an area of development for the company. The Richelieu store, for example, offers a range of these products alongside more traditional cannabis, which remains the best-seller.