I had a discussion with a couple of retail operators here in Arizona and there are marked changes in the pot industry as it “consolidates”. Through 2021, many suppliers, distributors and retailers were “dumping” excess inventory since the number of product offerings grew at an extrapolated pace. When all those investors that dumped billions into a new, and essentially untested, product market brought there products to retail, the space was already crowded and prices were slashed in an attempt to lock in market share and to move a perishable product with a limited shelf life. Every retailer was offering new customer discounts and 1/2 price specials.

What seems to be happening now is that there is some early maturation in the industry as unprofitable companies are forced to sell to larger consolidators which is bringing some order to the market. Hopefully prices will begin to stabilize, regulation will be more uniform, and those companies that survive will ultimately benefit.

I’ve been waiting for two years and I’ll hang in there a bit longer and maybe I’ll actually turn a profit on my investment. SNDL is slugging it out in Canada and the company’s experience there should bode well for it’s likely movement into the US and overseas.