Long illegal and associated by some with the counterculture, cannabis may not appear to lend itself to luxury branding. But as cannabis retail evolves, some are targeting consumers who want a luxe experience rather than just scoring a half-ounce.

In New York, Gotham, which opened in 2023, modeled itself after stores including the former Parisian boutique Colette, and Gotham’s founder Joanne Wilson told Retail Brew the brand combined “edgy” with “luxury.”

One brand aiming to—in every sense—fire up the luxury market is Made in Xiaolin, which produces a line of premium cannabis cigars called “cannagars.” Unlike cigars, cannagars contain no tobacco, just cannabis.

A lot of cannabis. While a typical pre-rolled joint sold in dispensaries is 1 gram, Xiaolin’s top-of-the-line cannagar, The Godfather, contains 10 grams of cannabis and another 2 grams of cannabis concentrate. The rolling paper that encases it gleams with 24kt gold, and it burns for as long as three hours.

In New York, where Xiaolin recently entered the market after being available since 2018 in Colorado, the wholesale price of The Godfather is $382.50. At the time of publication, at the nearest dispensary to me, the Lower East Side’s Conbud, it retailed for $660, while at the Upper East Side’s Lenox Hill Cannabis, it was $495.

What makes the company believe there’s a demand for such a luxury offering? What’s the retail strategy for selling a cannagar? And what’s it like to light one up?

I decided to find out.

Keep reading here.—AAN

From AI to omnichannel to influencers to loyalty, brands and retailers have a lot to keep track of.

So why not brainstorm with industry pros about how to elevate and conquer all of the above? Over 2.5k attendees will be breaking it all down at The Lead Summit 2024.

Oh, and get this: Retailers and brands can attend for absolutely *free*.

With 180+ speakers from brands like Target, Calvin Klein, H&M, New Balance, Supreme, Quip, Blue Bottle, and so many more, The Summit rings up a $1,095 value that brand and retail attendees can skip right over.

The Lead Summit isn’t just a conference; it’s an experience. Meet, connect, network, snack (yes, snack) from July 10–11 in NYC. All you’ve gotta do is save your seat.

Perhaps it never occurred to you to show up for a job interview dressed as Freddy Krueger, but there’s at least one place where, rather than it resulting in someone calling security, it could land you the job.

Although the thrill of getting your house egged and trees toilet-papered is four months away, Spirit Halloween recently began advertising to hire 50,000 seasonal employees to manage and staff its stores. The prospective hiring total marks a record for the 41-year-old company, shattering its previous record of ~40,000 workers last year.

Keep reading here.—AAN

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Oisin Hanrahan is co-founder and CEO of Keychain, a platform helping CPG brands find manufacturing partners, used by brands like Utz, Momofuku, and Starkist.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? If you ask any CPG brand, “What is the hardest part about running your business?” they’ll tell you that it’s finding the right manufacturing partners—the companies who can help them actually produce and package the products we find on store shelves. Today, this massive industry operates completely offline and is dominated by time-intensive vetting at trade shows and via brokers. We actually just announced our core product that will make this process easier: a streamlined marketplace that connects brands, retailers, and manufacturers so they can find the right partners through one simple search.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I realized how confusing it is for people with food allergies to find products they can safely eat, which brought some of the flaws in the CPG manufacturing process to my attention.

Keep reading here.—EC

Bidding on a brighter future. Pre-loved goods are in style in a big way—and that’s a big win for the environment. eBay is at the forefront of the recommerce movement, and their brand-new Recommerce Report (the only thing not pre-loved here) gives SMB owners and entrepreneurs all the data and insights they need to get on board. Read the report.

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