For some consumers, going into a dispensary for the first time can feel scary. The retail environment rarely caters to first-time buyers, and there are still countless stigmas associated with cannabis and “weed culture” that feel like they should have died out years ago, but still persist today.
Mimi Lam is on a quest to change this. She’s the CEO and Co-founder of Superette, which creates immersive atmospheres that feel fresh and familiar to consumers. She’s also involved in the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council and Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s National Cannabis Working Group, where she advocates for sustainability and works to minimize the impact that the cannabis industry has on the planet.
Today, Mimi joins the podcast to share the story of how she took the leap from venture capitalist to cannabis entrepreneur, how the Canadian cannabis industry works, and how she and her co-founder Drummond Munro have worked within a series of strict (and often changing) rules and regulations to create unique customer experiences.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Why there’s a massive gap between product and consumer in the cannabis industry – and how this allows innovators to create better customer experiences.
- How Mimi has integrated giving back and positive social impact into every aspect of her business.
- Why federal legalization in Canada doesn’t solve everything – and the unique challenges Mimi’s business faces regularly.
- How Mimi took inspiration from delis, diners, and bodegas to create a different kind of retail cannabis experience.
INSPIRING QUOTE
“I think it is a misconception that it’s significantly easier for cannabis companies to operate in Canada. It’s been a huge blessing to be a federally legal operator and not have to worry about being shut down, but it’s still really difficult.” – Mimi Lam
EPISODE RESOURCES
- Superette
- Ottawa Food Bank
- Ottawa Food Bank Adopt a Crop program
- Ontario Cannabis Store
- Smart Serve
- Hybrid Pharm
- Ontario Cannabis Policy Council
- Instagram: superette_shop
- Twitter: superette_shop
CONNECT WITH US
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TRANSCRIPT
Rick Kiley: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of The Green Repeal. I am joined by my partner in crime, Jeffrey Boedges, as always. Hello.
Jeffrey Boedges: Bonjour, mi amigos. My French is terrible.
Rick Kiley: That was actually Spanish and French.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, I’m trying to just– I’m trying to speak to the…
Rick Kiley: Everyone.
Jeffrey Boedges: …Ontarians there that we might be speaking to.
Rick Kiley: Good segue, good setup for our guest today. Our guest today is Mimi Lam. She is the CEO and co-founder at Superette, which is a retail brand that makes buying cannabis as enjoyable as consuming it. Superette takes a fresh approach on the cannabis retail dispensary by creating an immersive atmosphere that takes the scariness and the stigma out of buying it and replaces it instead with an experience that feels fresh and familiar for consumers. It is paid off with numerous accolades for this retail environment meant that she and her co-founder, Drummond Munro, have developed.
And through her involvement in the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council and Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s National Cannabis Working Group, that’s a lot of words, Mimi advocates for and implement sustainable practices into her brand, her community, things that reduce waste, raise awareness of the environmental impact the industry can have on the planet, that’s a long one, but she’s done a lot. Hello, Mimi. Welcome to The Green Repeal.
Mimi Lam: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to join you guys in conversation.
Rick Kiley: Awesome. So, we said a lot here, and you obviously already have established yourself as a leader of the cannabis industry. Do you want to tell us a little bit about how you arrived at this point in time where we’re talking today?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, I mean, the last few years have been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least. I think transition’s putting it really nicely. It’s definitely been leaping into the deep and taking a lot of risks. So, I mean, I started out my career in venture capital, did a short stint in that, went on to do investment banking and joined another cannabis company and then ultimately landing in Superette. And I think, if I really had to go back into my thought processes, my experience in venture capital was really the impetus in me wanting to be an entrepreneur.
During that time, I was working with a lot of seed-stage companies, primarily in tech, but it was really interesting to see the passion behind building something and creating something special, something new, solving a problem. And I knew from that moment that I wanted to do something. And so, kind of fast forward, experiences like being in banking gave me a lot of skills and really built my toolbox, but was there something that I felt I could really expand? And so, switching into cannabis in the first place was something that at the time, so that was the early 2017, a lot of people were questioning that move, an established career progress and established industry to something very, very unknown. There were a lot of questions and doubts around that, but you know me, I’m like, there is no better time than now. I feel like opportunities are not so much about what they are, but when you take them, I see a lot of blank space to kind of create something new and different. And fast forward to fall of 2018 with a lot of development already in the legal cannabis space here in Canada, and again, going back to that, it’s just starting something, Superette was born.
Rick Kiley: Cool.
Jeffrey Boedges: So, your parents were all about this. They’re all behind you starting something again.
Rick Kiley: Right. Mom and dad, yeah.
Mimi Lam: Oh yeah, we’re working on it. Working on it.
Jeffrey Boedges: We’re working through that.
Rick Kiley: So, let me get this straight. You want to leave, you’re potentially successful, career in finance.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yes, and venture capital and banking.
Rick Kiley: With startup, yeah.
Mimi Lam: Yeah, I mean, in there, like I had already made it.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, alright. Alright, cool. Well, so let’s talk about how Superette was born. When you were looking around the industry and deciding to put it together, was there something that sparked the idea? Was there a problem within the industry that you saw, that you were like, I’m going to solve this problem, and Superette’s the answer?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, I mean, when we look at the industry, what is so much of wanting to solve a problem? We’re seeing opportunities and really honing in on that retail experience because that’s a beautiful part of the supply chain or the value chain of the industry that bridges the gap between product and brand and the customer itself. And so, that’s a crucial part in an industry like cannabis. And so, we looked at the Canadian landscape. And when I say we, I’m talking about myself and my co-founder, Drummond Munro. This was someone who I would say arguably in the time span of my life, I had recently met, but based on our connection, we already knew we wanted to do something together.
And we really have a desire to create a real retail experience. We wanted to build community. We want to build a platform that moves industry in a more positive and find a way rather than keeping it safe. And so, that’s the way we kind of look at the future. And arguably, we were quite naive and we were very ambitious and we just thought I’d walk around and I was like, yep, we’re going to do this.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, sometimes blind ambition is good, though. You need a little bit about that and all the starting blocks sometimes.
Jeffrey Boedges: Well, certainly it’s a lot easier to fall off a building if you don’t really think that you are going to hit the ground. So, yeah, I would think a certain degree of negativity is actually essential.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. And optimism.
Mimi Lam: A lot of optimism.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, cool. And so, you mentioned, as you mentioned wanting to sort of do something for the community. And I know that sort of positive social impact, investing in your community, giving back, that’s something that’s very core to your values of the business. Do you want to talk about that a little bit?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, for sure. I mean, community and being values driven is not just by those words, which I think a lot of brands and companies throughout, especially these days, but it’s part of our DNA. It’s who I am, it’s who Drum is, it’s who our team is. And so, that allows us to just integrate it to everything that we do, our actions, how we interact with each other, how we show up on a day to day. And it’s been really, really empowering to be able to surround myself with such great people who also share those values. And so, a lot of the initiatives that we’ve been able to do with Superette, whether that be giving back to the community, volunteering, and getting involved, really come from the team organically.
I think there’s a really important part to ensuring that the issues that we have are sustainable, and they continue to grow organically. So, it’s not just me saying like, “Hey, we’re doing this,” and it’s like a one day, one moment type of situation, but it’s something that we can really build on and people really believe in.
Rick Kiley: Cool. That’s great.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. Can you elaborate on a couple of the things that you think have been really successful, some of the initiatives? I’m just kind of curious.
Mimi Lam: Yeah, for sure. I mean, something that we’re really proud of is the partnership that we have with the Ottawa Food Bank. This is a relationship we’ve been building since we open our doors in Ottawa in the beginning of 2019. And since then, we’ve been volunteering our time, we’ve donated to the various programs. We’ve kind of looped and hopefully inspired those around us and the companies and brands that we work with to also support them in their need and helping fight that food insecurity. And even throughout times like COVID, we’ve been able to support them and in fact, I think it’s really fun. By this year, we’re going to be their official broccoli sponsor in their Adopt a Crop program.
So, Ottawa Food Bank is definitely one of them and really proud to incorporate that fund into how we make a positive impact, as I think about like a tyrannosaurus, so opened up two stores in the city of Toronto last year. And with each store, we knew that we wanted to somehow raise the profile awareness and the potential business for the neighboring businesses. And so, we have these burger phones and pizza phones in our stores that dial directly to these restaurants. And that, again, is just a little moment that has been in the store but has a much longer impact on an ongoing basis for these businesses.
Rick Kiley: I’m sorry. So, I just want to make sure you have a pizza hotline phone in your store?
Mimi Lam: You got it.
Rick Kiley: So, does the pizza come through the store? Or is it just like, what are people…
Jeffrey Boedges: How do you use the pizza phone?
Rick Kiley: Yeah, how does it work?
Jeffrey Boedges: Does it look like a piece of pizza, because I got one of those from Spencer’s when I was a kid?
Rick Kiley: Yeah, we need to know a picture of the phone, and how does it work?
Jeffrey Boedges: Yes, please.
Mimi Lam: So, our goal, our initial goal was to find a phone that looked like a pizza and a piece of slice. That was more difficult than we actually initially thought. And so, we have, in fact, it’s a pretty plain white phone, but what we did was we engaged a local artist to essentially graffiti the fact that it was a pizza phone in our store. And so, yeah, that will be then.
Jeffrey Boedges: Alright. Very cool.
Rick Kiley: People are sending pizza to the store.
Mimi Lam: No. So, they order, they intentionally pick up the phone that goes directly, it’s like a one-way phone line to the pizza…
Rick Kiley: Pizza can’t call you. I got it.
Mimi Lam: Pizza can’t call you, you got to call pizza. And then, you can order the Superette Special.
Rick Kiley: How nice.
Mimi Lam: And you can get it picked up. And you just pick it up, and it’s ready. It’s pretty hilarious, but it’s also really great.
Rick Kiley: That is fine.
Jeffrey Boedges: Nice, fast, and friendly, I love it.
Rick Kiley: Awesome. Well, like, so listeners may not be aware, if you couldn’t catch on by now, but you are in Canada. And I think one of the things we really wanted to talk to you about, other than pizza phones, was what it’s like to operate in a market that is federally legal for cannabis. We live in a murky, grayish world here in America. Do you think, and I don’t know how much you are connected with what’s going on in the US market, so you might not be able to contrast, but what’s it like to try to operate this in a world where you don’t have to worry about strange tax laws or the federal government potentially shutting you down at some point?
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. What’s it like to be able to have, like, tax deductions for your expenses?
Mimi Lam: I think it is a misconception that it’s significantly easier to operate in Canada, the cannabis companies. I do truly believe that every market has its own set of challenges and problems. And so, yes, it’s been a huge blessing to be a federally legal operator, to not have to worry about being shut down, to be able to bank, to have insurance, all that jazz, but at the same time, it’s still really difficult. So, even some of those areas, like, say, banking and insurance, there’s still a strong bias from these service providers against cannabis companies. So, it’s like, yes, you can have that, but you’re paying up for it, or you have to have cash collateral, or you’re paying two to three times than normal industry, any other industry player would be paying in order to have that. And then, not only that, because of federal legalization, there’s actually also different subsets of laws in which we have to operate in.
And so, there’s federal legislation and regulations, there’s provincial, there’s municipal. And so, being a retailer in Ontario, you have to follow the rules of every single city, the province that we’re in, as well as the country. And so, there’s also various layers that you kind of have to dig through and make sure you’re abiding by. And just like any other company in any industry, being a startup is challenging. And so, you’re having to figure this out while also the additional layer of the government trying to figure it out.
Jeffrey Boedges: Got it.
Mimi Lam: And so, the amount of times that the regulations have changed, whether it be on the municipal, provincial, or federal level, since we started the company, like I can’t even keep count.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right.
Rick Kiley: And so, I’m curious, when you talked about banking, for instance, are there institutions, even though it’s legal, that will not lend to cannabis companies like, I’m just…
Jeffrey Boedges: Royal Canadian Bank. Come on.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, I mean, just like, yeah, who are we going to badmouth? Like global banks, like HSBC is a global bank and so, all over the world. Are they just like, we don’t do this because we have global consumers and it’s not legal in other markets? Like I’m curious about that.
Mimi Lam: Yeah. Let’s just say there’s a very, very small subset of banks that will actually bank cannabis companies, and there’s an even smaller subset that will bank private cannabis companies. And so, I think it’s easy to look at the newswires and say, like so-and-so public company has this debt facility or is raising this money, us, like we don’t get access to that, and we even try to have those conversations. It would be with terms that would put our company to the ground. So, it’s not pretty.
Rick Kiley: Is that why it seems– I have been surprised at how many Canadian cannabis companies are, in fact, public, like, it just seems like in the US, companies have to get much larger valuations before they tend to go public. So, is that sort of banking, maybe one of the reasons why they’re doing that to be able to get that, to get banks to underwrite them?
Jeffrey Boedges: To get access to more resources because they’re public…
Mimi Lam: Yeah, I would say going public for any company regardless of industry, of a big advantage of it is access to capital. So, I don’t think that’s different for cannabis companies. I think in terms of the flood of go publics was a function of the green rush and the vast amount of opportunity that was here. And because Canada was a federally legal industry, it was a lot easier for Canadian companies to do it, to actually go public, but you’re seeing US companies go public, but on Canadian exchanges. Hopefully, that is going to shift over time, but it was more of a function of Canadian companies operating in front of the legal legislation wanting access to capital, yeah, similar.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. And you mentioned you’re independent right now, given your background, that sort of is counterintuitive?
Mimi Lam: So, I would say, I started Superette with a view of wanting to build the company properly. And if you look at the timeline of any traditional industries, this type of race rarely happens. Obviously, I’m not talking about like your tech companies or eastwards and things like that, but in general, they’re like, say, traditional CPG companies, traditional retail companies, there’s quite a long tail of organic growth before you contemplate liquidity option. And right now, I see, as building a network of stakeholders, which doesn’t just include the shareholders and investors that we have, but the team that we’re building and back to like why we started to brand in the first place, theoretically, and I’ve had these conversations before, which is why don’t you just go public as soon as you can. Is that really the right move for us now, is always going to be a question that we discuss internally, but we have to look at this industry and how we grow, sometimes with our blinders on to make sure we’re doing right by all of our stakeholders.
Jeffrey Boedges: It sounds like you’re actually doing it correctly. So, way to go, well done.
Mimi Lam: It’s not my place to say who’s doing it directly. It’s all different approaches.
Rick Kiley: There’s no right way.
Jeffrey Boedges: To say correctly, you can say, right, that’s exactly.
Rick Kiley: Correctly, according to…
Jeffrey Boedges: I would say you’re doing it intelligently then. How’s that? I think you seem to have a very solid strategy in place. This isn’t anything that’s happenstance, so again, hold on.
Mimi Lam: I think the fun thing about being an entrepreneur is you get to write your own destiny, you get to choose your future. And this is the future that we are choosing.
Rick Kiley: Alright, got it. Love it. Okay, a couple of questions about comparisons to the US. First off, we have talked to a lot of folks…
Jeffrey Boedges: Who has better weed?
Rick Kiley: Whoa.
Jeffrey Boedges: I’m teasing. I had to take it.
Rick Kiley: Okay.
Jeffrey Boedges: Go ahead, Rick. Sorry to interrupt you.
Rick Kiley: Alright. I thought we were going to go bacon. Who has a better bacon? No…
Mimi Lam: Canada, 100%. Maple syrup, Canada. Hockey, Canada. Okay, let’s do this.
Rick Kiley: Coffee?
Jeffrey Boedges: Hockey, coffee.
Rick Kiley: Oh, I was like, coffee?
Mimi Lam: And coffee.
Jeffrey Boedges: Who has better? Yeah.
Mimi Lam: Canada has a lot of good roasters out here.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. I don’t know.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right. That’s Canada Maple Leaf Gardens.
Rick Kiley: Alright. So, maple syrup, hockey, and weed. Alright, it’s not a bad trio. It may not be as good as Rush, the original Canadian power trio, but…
Jeffrey Boedges: It’s up there.
Rick Kiley: It’s up there. Alright. So, opening up a retail space in Canada, we’ve talked to a lot of folks on this podcast who have operated dispensaries either through a medical program or adult use, and it is quite cumbersome here. And it, of course, varies state by state in terms of how you get the license, how many licenses are allocated, what you need in order to submit for the license, how much it costs. Curious just what’s the process of opening a retail space in Canada, if you can kind of walk us through that?
Jeffrey Boedges: Yep, boil it down, and make it possible for us to do it within like three minutes.
Mimi Lam: So, Coles Notes, yes. Canada is regulated on the federal level, but from a distribution standpoint, which includes retail, it differs from province to province and territory by territory. The government of Canada was like we don’t want to figure it out, all the provinces figure it out. And so, every single province has its own model and it has its own set of rules. So, kind of boil it down to Ontario, which is the market that we operate, and there’s been a few shifts since we first started.
So, when we opened our first store that was within a limited licensed environment where the government essentially chose 25 operators by lottery. And no, we don’t win the lottery, we have to partner to get our feet off the ground, but since then, the model has used that transition to what we call like a fully privatized model. So, right now, the process of setting it up is essentially you have to be approved as an operator. And so, that means the government has my tax returns, the government knows everything about me. You get approved, and then subsequent to that, yeah, there’s a different set of licenses for the store itself. And so, there is a criteria that you have to ensure that you head in during your application for the location itself, any sort of business restrictions and setbacks, making sure that you have the appropriate security and service provider requirements. And you kind of go from there. There’s a bit of a timeline in making sure that you can pass all the inspections, your application can be approved, but it’s getting to a more seamless transition, which I think is quite good for entrepreneurs when they enter the space.
Rick Kiley: Do you have to have a lease signed at the location where you’re going to put the store prior to submitting the application?
Mimi Lam: You need to show that you have the ability to have that location in your possession. And so, whether it be a firm OTL or a full lease, which is the approach that we take, you need to show that you can take possession.
Rick Kiley: Okay.
Jeffrey Boedges: What is OTL?
Mimi Lam: Offer to lease, sorry.
Jeffrey Boedges: Got it.
Mimi Lam: Lingo.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, I don’t know if we have OTLs in the US, do we?
Rick Kiley: I think that it’s similar to a letter of intent.
Jeffrey Boedges: Whatever intent.
Rick Kiley: We’re saying, yes, we’ve come to these agreements. Should this work out? And I think that’s the way that most people…
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, a contingency lease, really.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Jeffrey Boedges: Okay.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, cool. Alright. I think I heard, so the state or the province, they had kind of a state-run store for all the actual cannabis, right? So, you buy, they’re like the wholesaler. Is that correct? Am I understanding that correctly?
Mimi Lam: You’re correct. And it’s definitely something that I would say is a challenge and a bit of a sticking point for this industry, only in the sense that it’s confusing because you have the government being a wholesaler for all the retailers. So, me, as a retailer and all my other retailers here, we have to buy all of our cannabis products from the Ontario Cannabis Store, but on the flipside, they also have an e-commerce and do delivery. And so, they’re also a retailer directly to customers, and so, they’re wholesalers and retailers, yeah.
Rick Kiley: Oh, that’s weird.
Jeffrey Boedges: Does it undercut your pricing? Or do they price at retail for the direct too consumer?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, the sticky point here is there is an inherent margin loan ceiling, I would say, if you look at the wholesale price that we see versus the retail price that they sell directly. And so, those are the types of things that we’re always kind of looking into. I think the interesting way in this model has evolved is that because Ontario is the largest buyer of cannabis for the country in its entirety, so they’re the ones going out to all the licensed producers across the country and securing that supply, whereas from a population standpoint or from the model itself, is different, is much more powerful than all the other markets. And so, the access that we have arguably is quite good, but that being said, as a retailer, I can’t make normal retail decisions, which is sort of the product that I want to sell, curate the actual products and brands that are in my store, can’t really do that with cannabis.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right.
Rick Kiley: Because there are some states in America that in the alcohol beverage industry, there are state stores that act as the wholesalers. So, like Pennsylvania is a good example. And everybody who is going to sell at a bar or at a liquor store or a grocery store or whatever has to buy through a state store, but the state does not have the ability to sell directly to consumers, like that three-tiered system is a mandate, so.
Jeffrey Boedges: There actually are some states like New Hampshire where they have state liquor stores and that is the state selling directly to consumers.
Rick Kiley: Well, I’m wrong again.
Jeffrey Boedges: No.
Rick Kiley: That’s cool.
Jeffrey Boedges: Sorry, but there are states out there that do sell direct. I’ve never really even contemplated what that actually does to the retail model because, yeah, it’s weird, but yeah. So, I’m kind of…
Mimi Lam: I mean, it just seems like dial it back a little bit. Before they even had this model, what was contemplated in Ontario was that the government was going to sell period, like there wasn’t going to be responsibility for private retailers in general. It went from a government-run cannabis retailer only to now this mixed model.
Jeffrey Boedges: Got it. Do you foresee a time where they’re going to close up the direct to retail piece as a way to stimulate capitalism, frankly?
Mimi Lam: It’s hard to tell.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, lots of…
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. Well, we’ll actually start a new pool for when the Canadians are going to get rid of direct to consumer. So, I have a couple of questions regarding how if the state is kind of providing the wholesale function. Who’s doing the growing and the supplying? Are those independents as well, so just the state is just bridging the gap? And then, do they buy from out of province? So, are they buying stuff in the West Coast as well?
Mimi Lam: Yeah.
Jeffrey Boedges: So, at least, on the East Coast, you’re getting products from all over Canada, right?
Mimi Lam: Exactly. So, based on the federal legislation, the producers are governed on a federal level and can be anywhere in the country. And then, it’s up to the province in the markets to secure that supply. And they’ve got to look all across the entire spectrum.
Rick Kiley: And are they only buying the raw materials, like meaning, I guess, if you’re an extractor who is pulling out something to make like a gummy or a tincture or something like that, where do they fall in sort of the Canadian sales cycle?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, so the government buys finished products.
Rick Kiley: Okay.
Mimi Lam: So, there is a company that wants to get a gummy or a topical. A producer would have the license that allows them to do that, and then that would be the finished good that they ultimately sell across the country.
Rick Kiley: Does the government buy everything? Like, I mean, if you’re trying to bring a new product to market, that’s a gummy, for instance, and it’s not just flour or whatever, like what’s the gatekeeping to get it listed in the federal store?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, they don’t buy everything.
Jeffrey Boedges: That’s a job that you want.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, I mean, it was…
Jeffrey Boedges: So, I got a guaranteed check. I’m going to get a really nice retirement, and I get to have weed all day. That’s the best government job of all time.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, but how do they make those decisions? It’s just a cure. Is it just like, is there a guy? It was like, I like this, go for it?
Jeffrey Boedges: She’s like, that’s a really good question.
Rick Kiley: Or is there a certain amount of new products they take in every year, like this is mystifying to me?
Mimi Lam: Good question. Like, I think that if we all had the crystal ball to fully understand what those internal models and decisions look like, it would be really interesting to see, but there are category managers that are focused on securing what the category assortment looks like and at what price point, how it ranges from like, good, better, best, and which brands, et cetera. We don’t have a crystal ball to see how exactly those decisions are made, but it’d be nice if we were the ones who are able to make that decision for our own store. That’s what I would say.
Jeffrey Boedges: Do you feel like that their selections are average, above average, or below average?
Mimi Lam: So, the selection is quite wide, and it keeps changing. I think the additional layer of complexity that we’re working through is because of how Canada has legalized cannabis. It went from one final product, which is flower oils, very, very limited formats to just over a year ago, introduction of what they call 2.0 products, so vapes, edibles, beverages, topicals. And because of that timeline, you have to start right back at the beginning of the supply chain, which were companies who are being set up to produce that. And so, over the last two years, what not just us, but the government is dealing with is new producers that are just getting off the ground, new products and brands getting off the ground. And so, that initial supply is constantly in flux. So, it’s really difficult to say, like is what the Ontario Cannabis Store currently securing the best selection that there could be based on what there is. You’re dealing with a whole bunch of other factors that are coming off, like that are going on as well. I think ultimately, where my stance is, is I just want to be able to make that decision myself and not have to go through an intermediary. That’s all I care about right now, but.
Rick Kiley: Well, do you as a retailer have any sway like, let’s say Rick and Jeff create a brand of gummies in Vancouver?
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. Can you petition the government?
Rick Kiley: And we’re trying to get it into the store, but we can’t, like does that company have the ability to sort of get you aware of their product and you be able to say, I’d like to buy this product and go to the store, and they’ll say, okay, we’ll list it, because we know you’ll buy it?
Mimi Lam: Not currently. I think there’s contemplated models that will allow for that in the future, but currently…
Rick Kiley: That is an interesting bureaucratic layer, wow.
Jeffrey Boedges: Well, it would make it really difficult to go in the supply side because…
Rick Kiley: Right. Why would you? It will just…
Jeffrey Boedges: Because it’s like, how would you even know if they’re going to get picked up?
Rick Kiley: Joe, who’s trying it that day might be in a bad mood, and be like, I don’t like the shape of your gummy, it’s yellow. I hate yellow, it’s out. It just seems strange. Alright. We talked enough about this.
Mimi Lam: You got it.
Rick Kiley: Alright.
Jeffrey Boedges: Can I ask one other just the last question? Sorry, and this is, yeah, I get Rick calls me Columbo, but the last question I have is really about some of the more nuanced product differences between what you might find in the US. And we had an earlier conversation and you said there were some limitations on like dosing and potency and things like that. Can you explain what some of those are, and how those might be different from the US?
Mimi Lam: Yeah. So, right now in Canada, still very limited dosing is allowed in what I call process and derivative products. So, say any edible, it’s a maximum of 10 milligrams per package. So, not great economically on either side of the equation, whether you’re a producer or a customer. And then, when it comes to packaging itself, you also get things, like your logo can’t be bigger than the THC sign. It has to be plain packaging, you can actually market your brand on that package. There are a lot of restrictions and barriers to actually expressing creatively what that brand and product is. And so, it’s up to the retailer to demystify a lot of that and why it’s so critical being a retailer in the space.
I think from my perspective, one of the biggest challenges from all these different packaging requirements is the environmental impact. I think that’s something that this industry just needs to get better at, because current day, you’re seeing these massive plastic packages for like a one gummy inside and it just makes no sense.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right. Yeah, that could be a lot of waste.
Rick Kiley: Sounds like it.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. So, 10 milligrams for a package, I mean, we get, yeah, anyway.
Rick Kiley: It’s not a lot.
Jeffrey Boedges: It’s not a lot. I think we have some Americans that would complain about that.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. We like things that are big here.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. It’s like Texas. It’s something…
Rick Kiley: Yeah. Alright, let’s move on. Let’s talk a little bit about the retail experience, like you’ve been awarded, you’ve got two Clio Awards for brand experience for the dispensary and for the retail experience you created. Can you walk somebody through the uninitiated who doesn’t live in Canada? Like, what does someone expect to find there when they come into your store? What’s the whole idea behind it?
Mimi Lam: Yeah. So, I’ll take you back right to our name. So, the name Superette is really another word for a mini supermarket, and it’s something that is used in various parts of the world. And why I say the name is important because it really defines and sets the tone for your entire experience. We are here to build community and create community and bring some fun into the retail experience, which just happens to be by selling cannabis. And so, what we ended up doing was draw inspiration from familiar retail experiences, so delis, diners, bodegas, and really use that as kind of the framework in which we want to build up the Superetter experience.
And so, say you walk into one of our stores, whether in Ottawa, in Toronto, and hopefully in other markets in the future, you’ll get a really good vibe. You’ll get welcomed by our team member who will check your ID and see what you’re looking for, but as you walk in, you know, really what we’re trying to create is an atmosphere that you feel comfortable and familiar, and a space that you feel like you have agency over your experience and so on, over your cannabis journey. And so, there’s a lot of products out there, both on the cannabis and non-cannabis side for you to explore. And that vibe is really tying it all together, really put together by the team itself, the vibe that you get in store from the music and everything in between.
Rick Kiley: Got it.
Jeffrey Boedges: I love your online presence. I wish I could say that I’ve been to one of your retail stores, but are we even allowed in Canada yet?
Rick Kiley: Not yet. In a month.
Jeffrey Boedges: A month?
Rick Kiley: We’re going to be, alright, but I think later, mid to late spring, we’ll get some guidance on there. If you’re vaxxed I think, you’re going to be able to get through it soon.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, I’m going to try to sneak across the border, I think.
Rick Kiley: Not always works, especially if there’s weed involved.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah.
Mimi Lam: Yep.
Jeffrey Boedges: What could happen?
Mimi Lam: What I would say is like, well, we’ve done a really good job, and what we try really hard to do is bridge that physical and digital experience. And so, while you two might not be physically able to step in store, I want to make sure that you still get the Superette experience online. So, through our social media, through our website, you can buy our non-cannabis products via e-com. And that’s something we have a lot of pride in and making sure that our brand can reach all corners of the earth even if we’re not there physically.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, I bought the Keith Haring tray and the Happy Buddha water pipe.
Mimi Lam: Yes.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, yeah, they’re beautiful. I was like, I got to get those.
Rick Kiley: Just always loading up on the swag.
Jeffrey Boedges: You know, but they’re going to be gifts probably. So, you know.
Rick Kiley: Alright, alright.
Mimi Lam: Gift them for yourself. You deserve it.
Rick Kiley: Well, yeah, you do deserve it, Jeff. I mean, get yourself, right? Really, treat yourself. So, you mentioned being part of the community, and Jeff and I come from running the event side of the business. I’m curious, do you invite the community, or do you create special events? Do you bring your store to life around certain occasions? And is there anything you’ve done that you’ve found successful?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, definitely. We have a lot of fun putting events in our community and at our stores as well. Obviously, it’s been really challenging to continue to do that in the store during COVID, but historically, we’ve partnered with local music festivals and have live music in our stores.
Rick Kiley: Nice.
Mimi Lam: We like having personalized in-store events and activations with specific brands or product categories or formats. I think some of the most fun community events that we did, we’re celebrating 10/17, which is the date of legalization in Canada. And so, every year, October 17th, there’s a bit of about 425 Canadians coming together and celebrating about legalization. And so, we had that in our Toronto store a few years ago, and being able to bring the community in to just enjoy and celebrate, it was really great. And I think about an event like Bowl and Roll, which is a bowling event that we held for the industry, again, just another fun way to bridge something that people already do and are familiar with and tying back to cannabis.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Jeffrey Boedges: Are people allowed to smoke in store or to partake in store? Okay, so when they come in to celebrate in the store, they’ve had to have as my…
Rick Kiley: Gone outside.
Jeffrey Boedges: Well, there was a have had, I mean, have had your whatever beforehand.
Rick Kiley: Or have you taken a walk around the block, that was the phrase that I was always told.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah. Well, that’s like the Dogwalkers, which is my favorite name for a joint ever.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Mimi Lam: Exactly.
Rick Kiley: Can people smoke in a bowling alley?
Mimi Lam: No, I mean, right now, what the government, especially in this market, is called the Smoke-Free Ontario Act which prohibits you from consuming anything or smoking anything indoors, but there’s always outside.
Rick Kiley: Is vaping any different? Vaping is considered smoking?
Mimi Lam: Yeah. Vaping is generally held to the same standard of smoking.
Rick Kiley: Got it. Alright, gummies it is. Alright. Cool. So, you’re talking about some of the legalities here, because it’s different in every market, but obviously, sampling consumers or driving trials, sampling is something that is very successful in other industries, yet not really available for the cannabis industry in many markets here in the US. Are you able to do that? Are you able to do cannabis giveaways? Or how do you go about driving trials for certain brands?
Jeffrey Boedges: And do you? I mean, do you push certain brands over the other?
Mimi Lam: So, can we? No. Do we? No.
Rick Kiley: Alright.
Mimi Lam: That’s the simple answer. So, based on cannabis marketing regulation and the activity that’s seen as inducement to purchase or consume more product is strictly prohibited. Giveaways are also strictly prohibited. So, we can’t do any of that. Cannabis consumption lounge is also another thing, so you can’t consume in store. So, all the barriers are up. And so, what we’ve done kind of as an alternative to that is giveaways around weed ritual and about our accessories. We find our creative ways to still engage with our customers and the brands that we carry.
Rick Kiley: Got it.
Jeffrey Boedges: Can I ask you a quick question on the creative side? And it’s one of those things like your website is beautiful and I love your product offering. You guys have just fantastic taste. So, I’m just wondering, again. So, I think about a person coming from banking typically in the US when you meet a banker, their house tends to be brown.
Mimi Lam: Really.
Jeffrey Boedges: So, it doesn’t always cultivate the most creative people. All my bankers out there, I’m sorry, you guys are cool, just in your own way, but, yeah, you’re…
Rick Kiley: But they’re pink and brown.
Jeffrey Boedges: I’m wearing a brown sweater today, so it’s all brown. I like brown, guys. I’m not trying to badmouth brown. All I’m saying is that, clearly, you’ve got a very creative mind, and I’m just kind of curious that– it’s almost like I’m surprised you got into weed. It’s like what took you so long? Why did you start someplace else? No. The question really is, is like who’s the driving creative force behind Superette?
Mimi Lam: So, I mean, I’m really grateful to have a co-founder. His name is Drummond Munro. And together, we started this company. And I think initially, I was primarily in the driver’s seat for business strategy operations, stuff like that, and he was definitely the creative retail force behind everything. I think what has happened over the years is we’ve been able to build a really tremendous team. And so, a lot of the creativity and the ideas that we have come from different parts of the company. We also now have a very talented creative director. We have buyers who know exactly what they’re doing. We’re creating products that Drum and I don’t have the final say on every single detail, but the overarching vision is still very much with us, just supportive with all this amazing talent.
Jeffrey Boedges: It’s cool.
Rick Kiley: Awesome.
Mimi Lam: He helps, too, just saying.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, yeah, Drum, you get all the respect, really.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, next time, we interview you, guys, we’ll interview him, and we’ll get your side of the story, right? Alright, cool. So, one thing I want to ask about, and this even seems, given the heavy restrictions around promotion and marketing, my guess is that the individuals who work in your locations, in your stores, who are affectionately termed as budtenders here in the US, I don’t know if that term exists in Canada as well, they must be a key element to the retail experience. And I’m curious when you’re recruiting them, is there a type of individual that you’re looking for when you’re trying to put somebody in your store to sort of engage with consumers?
Mimi Lam: Yeah. So, first of all, we do call them budtenders up there in Canada, and we do at Superette as well. And so, I would say, there’s no perfect formula for a great budtender, but generally speaking, we do look for individuals who encompass our values, our company values, who’s also a good listener, has a lot of empathy. Just because being in this industry, you have to really understand what someone else is looking for, and this is such a nuanced product. And so, being confident that these individuals can help and support customers in a way that is really positive, I think is really important. And then, making sure that they’re also not being confused and making sure they can distill important information and jargon into something that is digestible and understandable, that’s really important as well.
Rick Kiley: Got it. So, then, it leads me to another question. When you’re hiring someone, what level of expertise in the category does someone need to have, someone needs to walk in off the street with? And so, like…
Jeffrey Boedges: I just had a new business idea. We have bartending schools all over the US. It’s time to open up budtending schools.
Rick Kiley: There you go. Good idea. Write it down. Let’s do it.
Jeffrey Boedges: Add that to the list.
Rick Kiley: And so, I’m curious, this is sort of like what’s the base level that you’re expecting? And I’m curious as to what type of training program do you put in place to make sure someone is elevating their know-how to the point where they can really help everybody?
Mimi Lam: Yeah, for sure. So, the ranges of cannabis experience that our budtenders have ranged from a bit of experience to very, very experienced. I think ultimately the passion for the plant is important and the passion to try out new products all the time is important. So, I don’t think there is a baseline, like you have to know X because it’s so subjective. We just want to make sure that they’re keen on exploring and learning more. In terms of the formal training programs, everyone is who they can sell license, which is like a Smart Serve. And so, that is a government requirement, but we do a lot of in-house training as well, to make sure that everyone’s speaking the same language, whether we’re talking about a certain brand or product. And so, that is ongoing and that’s something that never ends.
Rick Kiley: Got it. Do you find that there are some people that start to specialize? So, I’m wondering if there’s someone who’s looking for medical use, is there someone who’s like, oh, go see this person because they’re the best with patients, and if someone who’s looking for just like I want to get bogacha blazed. I don’t know, just like so bogacha blazed, patented phrase right now, do people segment into service in sort of special areas? Or is everyone pretty much a generalist still at this point?
Mimi Lam: Pretty much everyone is still a generalist, only in the sense that you never know who’s dedicating time to what customer, and so there is an expectation that you can address and communicate with any type of customer. I think one of the things that is quite frustrating in the adult-use market up here in Canada is we can’t really talk to the medical benefits of cannabis. And so, everything is very wishy washy.
Rick Kiley: Interesting.
Mimi Lam: We can’t really say anything is good for you or good for this type of ailment, or if you’re looking for something specific, you can’t get to prescribe them anything. And so, everything is spoken at a very high level or anecdotally. And so, that’s a big challenge for this market.
Rick Kiley: Can you say like relaxing or energetic, or is that even too far?
Mimi Lam: You would say, in my personal experience, I’ve consumed this product, and I found it to be relaxing. You can say stuff like that.
Jeffrey Boedges: Got it.
Rick Kiley: There’s no separate, like medical track then for cannabis. Like, are there doctors who are allowed to or pharmacists who are allowed to speak to potential pains or like, I don’t want to take opiates for pain, I need to manage pain, will cannabis help? Like is there a separate sort of way to deal with that?
Mimi Lam: So, the cannabis industry in Canada started on the medical side. And so, all the licensed producers, historically, were purely on medical cannabis and medical patients. And so, all of them theoretically should have their own portals that connect them directly to patients. There aren’t many, I would say, pharmacies out there that kind of operate in the function of a medical dispensary. There’s starting to be a few, there’s one I do want to shout out, Hybrid Pharm in Ottawa, which is a pharmacy that has a sales license and is allowed to talk about the medicinal benefits of cannabis in a way that us, as a retailer can’t, but those are very few and far between. I can’t really name any other ones.
Rick Kiley: Got it. Alright. So, I’m curious then, and I was asking this question, it’s kind of a strange thing, but in the US, we work a lot in the alcohol beverage industry, and the bartenders, mixologists, they tend to play, I think the equal sort of gatekeeper role that these budtenders play. And when a brand wants to gain advocacy and support from the members of the trade, they will go in and train staff, they’ll bring them to experiences, they will make sure they try the product, they’ll work with them in creating cocktails. And I’m curious, in Canada and with your team, are there effective ways for a brand that is being sold in your locations to get your employees on their side supporting and recommending the brand?
Mimi Lam: So, product knowledge sessions are quite common, and I think every single producer takes a different approach in terms of how they connect with our team, but building that relationship and having open lines of communication is key for anything. And our budtenders need to understand and really believe in what they sell. Are there things like budtender kickbacks, for example, that I believe is prevalent in US states? That’s not something that we engage in.
Rick Kiley: As they are, they’re under the table.
Mimi Lam: It’s not something that happens as much in Canada, if at all. We certainly don’t engage in any of those practices because right now, yeah.
Rick Kiley: I’m not asking if there’s anything untoward going on, I’m just curious as to like what is again, if Rick and Jeff started up a brand of gummies up there in Ontario, and we wanted to say, get your budtenders to recommend it to folks, like what…
Jeffrey Boedges: Can we take him to a hockey game?
Rick Kiley: Yeah. Or what can we do? And what would work? Like I think that’s the other question, what does your team want or need in order to actually truly advocate for a brand in an authentic way?
Mimi Lam: How brands and producers communicate with the Hiller’s again is something that does very different that…
Rick Kiley: Differentiate?
Mimi Lam: Differentiate, I’m losing my words now, slightly between province to province. So, what you can do in a place like Alberta? So, what you can do in Ontario? In Ontario, anything that is seen as inducement by the brand for a retailer to carry their product, also, huge no, no. And so, I think back in the day, producers are trying to be like, we’re not here to sell you anything, but here’s a couch or here’s a neon sign or here’s a hockey game, things like that. And so, technically, you can’t do any of that. Are there other ways to connect and incentivize through educational sessions or like site tours, things like that? Definitely do well.
Rick Kiley: Okay.
Jeffrey Boedges: And relationships, it sounds like, because relationships have always been sort of key in sales in the US anyway. It’s like, if you know the guy or you know the girl or you know the woman who makes it, and she seems like she’s cool and sort of speaks the same language as you, I think you’re more likely to carry it whether or not there’s…
Mimi Lam: I think the sale style also, everyone has a different approach, right? And so, it’s up to the producer on how they want to engage with potential retailers. It’s like if you want to be that annoying person that emails nonstop all day, every day, sure, you might be getting your point across, but I just don’t like how you work. So, I might just ignore that versus someone who, you just seem like a genuine person and is there to hang out and we like their vibe, that could be an approach as well.
Rick Kiley: Got it. Who ultimately makes the decisions as to what products to carry? I mean, is that you, or is that like the people that run the individual locations? Is it a team approach?
Mimi Lam: It’s definitely a team approach. We have a dedicated person that does all of our cannabis buying. And then, on a weekly basis, the team gets together to get that feedback from the budtenders to really understand what’s moving at the specific locations, what customers are asking for, what the budtenders are asking for, to make sure that we have a good selection.
Jeffrey Boedges: And how many SKUs are you carrying on the paraphernalia side, and how many are you carrying on the product side, ballpark?
Mimi Lam: Many. Hundreds and hundreds.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right. And every store carries everything? Or do you guys vary that by location?
Mimi Lam: We vary that by location. So, I would say our Summerhill store probably has the largest non-cannabis selection. Our Wellington store and Ottawa probably has the largest cannabis selection. Our Spadina store just based on footprint has the least out of everything, but still pretty wide. I think as we evolve, our retail experience is ensuring that we can have a more tailored value proposition at the store depending on the communities and then the store size. And also, we talk like a portfolio approach to our stores, making sure that it all makes sense and understanding that not everything works everywhere.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right. And is your retail experience consistent? Are you guys taking like– forgive me, but in the United States, I can go to Home Depot, and I know where everything is, if I go to the Home Depot here or if I go to the Home Depot in Vermont, they look exactly the same.
Mimi Lam: They’re not going to look exactly the same. It will have a very similar vibe and esthetic. And so, you’ll distinctly know it’s Superette, but the approach that we want to take is making sure that each location is special and that there are nuances to each that are only found there, and that makes it also kind of fun.
Rick Kiley: Cool.
Jeffrey Boedges: Do they all have pizza phones?
Mimi Lam: All have pizza phones.
Rick Kiley: What?
Jeffrey Boedges: Alright. Never mind.
Rick Kiley: Okay. We’re coming towards the end of our time, but I do want to ask about a couple of things to make sure we get to– you are one of only three women on the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council, and I believe there’s only two until very recently. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience? And how? And why you got involved? And what you do with them?
Mimi Lam: So, it’s funny, I didn’t actually know how many women are on this council until this, essentially. I think gender is one of those things that I just want to make sure that it’s not tokenism for the sake of tokenism.
Rick Kiley: Right.
Mimi Lam: That I’m there for my quality of thought. And so, being involved in the council, I was one of the founding members of this council is something that you take a lot of pride in, because I think about why I joined the space in the first place, which is to push this industry along in a positive way to make sure that my voice is heard in terms of where this industry is going. And so, it’s important for me to continue to be involved, not just within my own company and in the stores, but more broadly speaking, making sure that if there are specific regulatory items, specific things, from a government relations standpoint, that I can support in, I can. And so, this is one of the few councils that I’m very active in, so that we don’t live in a future that we don’t want to operate on.
Rick Kiley: Okay, that’s cool. So, do you stay close to what’s happening in the United States, like in this industry? Like are you mostly focused on…
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, I think you guys have some plans to expand in the US.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. Are you coming this way? I think that’s the question.
Mimi Lam: One day. I’m keeping my eyes on the market. I mean, being in the US, having Superette in the US is definitely a dream. We’re working on it. You guys got work to do, too.
Jeffrey Boedges: You could run Buffalo, like would not even have to do anything different.
Rick Kiley: You just need to make it legal in New York for adult use.
Jeffrey Boedges: Well, sounds good.
Rick Kiley: Which will be there soon.
Jeffrey Boedges: That’s coming soon.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. The Northeast, we feel like very soon. The whole Northeast is going to be a small interstate group of states that cooperate together. So, I think we might even see some interstate commerce there from, at least Jersey up to Vermont.
Mimi Lam: I think it’ll be really interesting, and I think kind of seeing from afar everything that’s happening in the US has been fascinating because it’s been such a different approach from Canada. And it’s also kind of interesting, it’s kind of like watching a TV drama, seeing all these different US MSOs.
Jeffrey Boedges: I thought you’re going to say Trainwreck.
Mimi Lam: Thinking that do well, but no, it’s been fun kind of watching that landscape as it develops, so that we can learn from it, too, right, understand what might be working, trying to figure out what we want to do ahead of that, because we definitely want to be there.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Jeffrey Boedges: Right.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, the one thing that you said, it’s made me curious as to how it will work in the US is just it feels like the US has a very sort of strong medical program popping up in both states and then some states going to the adult use, and I wonder if adult use is going to consume the medical use, like just if those two worlds aren’t going to be able to exist simultaneously.
Mimi Lam: I mean, there’s always going to be, I think, a bit of a difference, I think about medical use and like insurance, for example, that’s something that we’ll never touch the adult-use market, but then, again, I talk to a lot of consumers up here, just because they buy from an adult-use store doesn’t mean they’re not consuming it for medical purposes. It’s just access.
Rick Kiley: Right. And did the price– I think I skipped this question, but maybe you can answer quickly. In the US, we still have a very robust illicit market in a lot of states, I mean, and a lot of that is owed to the fact that it’s actually pretty expensive to produce it legally, given the way the tax code is written here. Is there an illicit market still operating in Canada in a significant way? Or is that still happening?
Mimi Lam: So, cannabis has been in Canada for much longer than this industry, and so I think that the legal market is taking up all that supply and demand right off the bat is just extremely unrealistic. So, to your point, in terms of pricing, I think the legal market faces challenges with having additional things like excise tax and the regulatory burden that drives the cost everywhere, government intermediaries that drive up costs. So, those are challenges that I think are on either side of the border.
Rick Kiley: Right, right, right. Cool. I mean, I got one more, I know you probably have to protect who visits your store, but have Harry and Meghan stopped by? I mean, it’s just like, are they…
Jeffrey Boedges: That’s the reason they moved. I mean, I think…
Rick Kiley: Like I heard, you know. Are they repeat customers? Is there a crown phone?
Mimi Lam: They won’t return my calls or hash message. It’s been really hard to get to hold them.
Jeffrey Boedges: Well, we’ll put a call in to Oprah for you.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Mimi Lam: Perfect.
Rick Kiley: The US loves Harry and Meghan right now. So, I hope they bring some good attention. So, look, we usually end this, and this will be strange. We usually end any interviews asking people to look into their crystal ball and say, when do they think that cannabis will be legal in the US federally? I’m wondering if you have a viewpoint, but you can also say you can…
Jeffrey Boedges: Pool’s up to like 40 bucks now, by the way, so there’s a lot that’s riding on.
Rick Kiley: And a bunch of swag from our favorite shops.
Mimi Lam: Oh, perfect. Well, I’ll put in a dollar to raise your pool of $41. And based on what I’ve been hearing, it seems like 2022 seems like even a possibility.
Rick Kiley: Wow.
Mimi Lam: It seems like a set of dominos that are just falling. So, call me optimistic, but there’s a lot of momentum.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. Alright. I like the optimism.
Jeffrey Boedges: I do too. There’s a lot of need for tax dollars, I’ll say that much. And I think that’s one of the taxes that people are not going to get their nose out of joint about.
Mimi Lam: And New York first and then get the rest of the country.
Rick Kiley: Yeah.
Jeffrey Boedges: Pretty much.
Rick Kiley: I think New York has to fall. And it would be great to have one big southern state like Texas going legal would be great.
Jeffrey Boedges: It’d have to be Texas or Georgia, really one of those two. I see Georgia being more likely to pass before Texas, I don’t know.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, you never know.
Jeffrey Boedges: Yeah, that could be a new part of the pool. Who’s going to legalize first?
Rick Kiley: Who’s going to go first? What’s the order? We could do that like a…
Jeffrey Boedges: Little sub.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, what’s the kind of pool where you’re alive until the team loses?
Jeffrey Boedges: Like an elimination pool, yeah, right, I like that. I was also thinking we could do it as a trifecta. So, if you can bet those two, you get to hit the federal pool, you get $120.
Rick Kiley: Yeah. Alright.
Mimi Lam: One step further, you can only bet in Bitcoin.
Rick Kiley: Do you know, and sorry, I just saw these NFTs, these non-fungible tokens, which everyone is talking about them like crazy, and I saw a guy today who’s trying to sell digital weed NFTs.
Mimi Lam: Yeah.
Rick Kiley: I’m just like I don’t know if that’s going to really produce the same result, but.
Mimi Lam: We’ve been wrong before.
Rick Kiley: We have been wrong before, we have been wrong before. Anyway, Mimi, thank you so much for joining us today. We really love having you on the show. If you do expand to the US, or when you expand to the US, you can come back and tell us all about it, maybe your partner on, too, to make it a foursome. It’ll be great.
Mimi Lam: Yeah, that would be awesome. Definitely keep you posted. Thank you again for having me. For anyone who’s listening, check us out online, if you’re not here in person, we’re at www.SuperetteShop.com, and then in Instagram and Twitter, superette_shop. We have a lot of things going on in 2021, more stores, more products, hopefully, expand into the US, lots of fun things, and we’re just getting started.
Rick Kiley: That’s exciting. How many stores are you at right now?
Mimi Lam: We’re at three.
Rick Kiley: Three, alright.
Mimi Lam: People think it’s 30 or 300, it’s just three.
Rick Kiley: I think it was, yeah. I thought it was 13, so just letting you know, anyway.
Jeffrey Boedges: At 130, I think you’d be public.
Rick Kiley: Yeah, should have to be. Alright, cool. Anyway, thanks again so much. Thanks, Jeff. We’ll see you all soon.
Mimi Lam: Thank you both. Have a good one.
[END]