Québec: SQDC to triple its number of stores within 3 years

The Société Québécoise Du Cannabis (SQDC) plans to open 56 new cannabis stores between 2020 and 2023, bringing the total to 89. About 20 of them are expected to open by March 2020.

While Quebec lawmakers are hesitant when it comes to cannabis, prohibiting self-cultivation and then standing up the minimum age of 21, Quebecers are less so. The SQDC recorded 4 million transactions in its first year—or 2 sales per minute—and 27 metric tons of cannabis, despite numerous shortages at launch and limited access across the province.

On average, Quebecers live 35 kilometers from one of the 18 SQDC stores currently open. Online sales also account for only 7% of its revenue, a share that tends to decrease as new stores open or operating hours are extended.

The province is also seeking to Expand home delivery cannabis, to best combat the black market, which didn't wait for cannabis to be legalized before expanding into this niche.

So far, Quebecers have preferred to buy in stores, with the black market attracting the bulk of consumers. The ban on candy and cannabis-infused cakes In Quebec, this is unlikely to help the province gain ground in the illegal market.

The addition of new stores will, however, help fill certain gaps, where a lack of access to cannabis automatically drives people to the black market. Montreal is set to welcome 15 new stores, the Montérégie region 8, Quebec City and Laval 5 each, and the Outaouais region 4. The remaining 19 stores will be spread across the rest of the province.