Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How a California pot company went from $575 million in cash to a 'debt death spiral'
SF Gate ^ | December 2, 2024 | By Lester Black

Posted on 12/02/2024 6:37:05 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer

Jay-Z’s cannabis brand looked timeless as soon as it launched in 2020. The billionaire rapper, legal name Shawn Carter, rolled out his Monogram line of luxury joints and cannabis flower with a photo shoot at the famous Frank Sinatra house in Palm Springs. Models elegantly smoked joints in front of mid-century pool furniture, as if the brand had been around for decades. Glowing profiles in GQ, Vogue and Vanity Fair soon followed.

Four years later, it looks like this splashy celebrity cannabis brand has already disappeared.

The conglomerate originally hit California’s market with $575 million in cash and plans to take over the entire industry, but after burning through half a billion dollars, it has merged into another company, which itself appears to be in financial trouble.

Jay-Z was named a C-suite executive (the chief visionary officer) at TPCO, and his Monogram brand was the company’s luxury offering, selling pre-rolled joints and cannabis flower in sleek black packaging at extravagant prices. A single joint cost $50; joints from other companies often sell for $5 each.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; cannabis; drugs; joints; pot; weed
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last

1 posted on 12/02/2024 6:37:05 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

drug-induced psychosis was likely responsible for this “Jay-Z” person believing people would pay $50 for a single joint.


2 posted on 12/02/2024 6:41:08 AM PST by rod5591
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

“A single joint cost $50; joints from other companies often sell for $5 each.”

I think I found the problem

I suspect Jay z has no business training whatsoever....

so it must be racism.


3 posted on 12/02/2024 6:43:09 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Did we need more evidence that DIE poisons everything?


4 posted on 12/02/2024 6:44:44 AM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

I suspect the same people managed that company and ran the Harris campaign.


5 posted on 12/02/2024 6:47:30 AM PST by Fido969
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: V_TWIN

Synthetic pot that is much stronger only costs about 5 cents per joint to make.


6 posted on 12/02/2024 6:51:12 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Wow man...like you know....what happened to the money?


7 posted on 12/02/2024 6:53:24 AM PST by Mashood
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

I have an old girlfriend from college I keep in touch with. She opened a pot shop in Seattle when it went legal. Had to close it within a year. Offering legal pot, premium pot, even cheap pot simply couldn’t compete with street prices that are half to a third of yours due to overhead, wages, bene’s, taxes. She’s a little salty about that.


8 posted on 12/02/2024 6:54:17 AM PST by BBQToadRibs2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: V_TWIN

Monogram justified these prices by saying its joints were hand-rolled with premium flower, but GQ said the joint failed to stay lit for “more than a few seconds,” a bad sign for even a $1 joint.


9 posted on 12/02/2024 6:55:39 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Dec 2, 2024
Photo of Lester Black
Lester Black
Cannabis editor
Lester Black is SFGATE’s cannabis editor. He was born in Torrance, raised in Seattle, and has written for FiveThirtyEight.com, High Country News, The Guardian, The Albuquerque Journal, The Tennessean, and many other publications. He was previously the cannabis columnist for The Stranger.


How long will his job last?


10 posted on 12/02/2024 6:58:34 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBQToadRibs2

Yup—the real legal market is directed to upscale picky customers—and it is a small market.

Most pot smokers want it cheap and strong.

The business owners made one of the most obvious business mistakes—they thought the market had the same tastes they do.


11 posted on 12/02/2024 6:58:53 AM PST by cgbg (It is time to pull the Deep State out of the mass media--like ticks from a dog.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: BBQToadRibs2

It seems to me that these days, people would feel safer buying from a legal business than whatever they might wind up with on the street.

In this case, ‘you get what you pay for’ could wind up deadly ...


12 posted on 12/02/2024 6:58:54 AM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Jamestown1630

The average pot smoker is not known for their sound judgement.

Lol.


13 posted on 12/02/2024 6:59:39 AM PST by cgbg (It is time to pull the Deep State out of the mass media--like ticks from a dog.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: tired&retired

About the same reason the pot experiment failed miserably in Colorado.....the state made it so expensive from taxing it potential buyers just continued to buy it off the street.

The fatal mistake was not knowing who the target consumer is.

Why would anyone spend more than they have to?


14 posted on 12/02/2024 7:00:13 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: PeterPrinciple

I’m glad I went through my reefer season in the 80s.

Living on the Southeastern coast, back then occasionally bales pot would just wash up on the beach......we called it “Seabo” lol!


15 posted on 12/02/2024 7:04:27 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2020/12/10/jay-zs-cannabis-brand-monogram-launches-with-50-hand-rolled-joints/

It raised $575 million when it went public on Canada’s microcap stock exchange NEO last summer.


Canadian money


16 posted on 12/02/2024 7:06:47 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: V_TWIN

Pot taxes were and are a significant part of the problem—but the costs of running a storefront are also significant:

—Rent
—Utilities
—Property taxes
—Salaries and benefits
—Insurance
—Accounting and regulatory reporting (including tax reporting)
—Marketing/advertising

etc etc etc.

Anyone new to running a small business will be blindsided and blown away by these (and other) costs.


17 posted on 12/02/2024 7:10:49 AM PST by cgbg (It is time to pull the Deep State out of the mass media--like ticks from a dog.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/TPCO-HOLDING-CORP-119074683/

Still a change to buy.


18 posted on 12/02/2024 7:10:51 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cgbg

and all your employees smoke up the profits with their friends.


19 posted on 12/02/2024 7:14:51 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: V_TWIN

“I suspect Jay z has no business training whatsoever....”

He doesn’t even work here.


20 posted on 12/02/2024 7:14:52 AM PST by Hammerhead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson