Great North Distributors to be Aphria’s exclusive cannabis representative in Canada
LEAMINGTON, Ontario & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aphria Inc. (“Aphria” or the “Company”) (
TSX:
APH
and US OTC: APHQF) and Great North
Distributors, Inc. (“Great North Distributors”), a wholly-owned
Canadian subsidiary of Southern
Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (“Southern Glazer’s”)
dedicated to the representation of cannabis products, are pleased to
announce today that they have signed an agreement for Great North
Distributors to serve as exclusive manufacturer’s representative for
Aphria’s adult-use cannabis products throughout Canada, following the
legalization of recreational cannabis for adult-use anticipated later
this year.
Under the terms of the agreement, Great North Distributors will be
Aphria’s exclusive cannabis representative in Canada. The first-of-its
kind deal gives Aphria 100% coverage of all cannabis retailers, whether
provincially or privately operated, across Canada from the first day of
legal adult-use sales.
“With this agreement, Aphria has established an unparalleled sales
network, and will hit the ground running from the very first day of
legal adult-use sales,” said Jakob Ripshtein, Chief Commercial Officer
of Aphria. “Great North Distributors provides us with an experienced,
dedicated team with a proven track record of driving sales and
exceptional performance across all provinces. This deal will ensure that
Aphria’s brands and products are proudly represented by cannabis
retailers throughout the country.”
As a subsidiary of Southern Glazer’s, North America’s largest wine and
spirits distributor, Great North Distributors has reach across every
province across Canada, including established relationships and
expertise in working with provincially owned and operated retailers and
private retailers alike. Great North Distributors will establish a
dedicated cannabis sales team that will be responsible for acting as the
selling agent of Aphria’s broad portfolio of adult-use cannabis brands
and products to provincial retailers throughout Canada, from the most
populated cities to the most remote locations.
Doug Wieland, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Southern
Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Canada commented on the ground-breaking deal,
“Our decision to become the first beverage alcohol distributor to
facilitate the legal distribution of cannabis in Canada reinforces our
innovative, first-mover position in the industry. We are thrilled to
partner with cannabis industry leader Aphria, and to leverage our
experience and expertise to ensure the efficient, legal, and safe
distribution of cannabis in Canada.”
Southern Glazer’s will apply their industry-leading data analytics
capabilities to the new cannabis industry, providing Aphria with a
powerful data-driven approach to cannabis sales through its new
subsidiary, Great North Distributors.
“Aphria is committed to being the premier cannabis company in Canada and
around the world, and this strategic relationship brings us one step
closer to reaching our goal,” said Vic
Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. “We’re delighted to have Great North
Distributors dedicated to our business. This deal enables us to fully
execute on our adult-use strategy from day one, and we know that Great
North Distributors has the right resources and expertise to allow us to
capitalize on the opportunities in the industry on a national scale.
We Have a Good Thing Growing
About Aphria
Aphria Inc., one of Canada’s lowest cost producers, produces, supplies
and sells medical cannabis. Located in Leamington, Ontario, the
greenhouse capital of Canada, Aphria is truly powered by sunlight
allowing for the most natural growing conditions available. Aphria is
committed to providing pharma-grade medical cannabis, superior patient
care while balancing patient economics and returns to shareholders.
For more information, visit: aphria.ca
About Great North Distributors, Inc.
Great North Distributors, Inc. is a Canadian subsidiary of Southern
Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, North America’s largest wine and spirits
distributor, and the preeminent data insights company for alcoholic
beverages. Southern Glazer’s has operations in 44 U.S. states and the
District of Columbia, Canada, and the Caribbean, and employs more than
21,000 team members. Southern Glazer’s urges all retail customers and
adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products
responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com.
Follow us on Twitter
and Instagram
@sgwinespirits and on Facebook
at Facebook.com/SouthernGlazers.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain
information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements
under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in
this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are
often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”,
“expect”, “potential”, “believe”, “intend” or the negative of these
terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news
release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to
internal expectations, estimated margins, expectations with respect to
actual production volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and
costs, the completion of any capital project or expansions, and
expectations with respect to future production costs. Forward-looking
statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including,
without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions;
adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future
legislative and regulatory developments involving medical marijuana;
inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external
sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable
terms; the medical marijuana industry in Canada generally, income tax
and regulatory matters; the ability of Aphria to implement its business
strategies; competition; crop failure; currency and interest rate
fluctuations and other risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers
are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or
expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information,
although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation,
may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from
those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly
qualified by this cautionary statement.