Chris Jones, Cannabis Xpress CEO, on Disruption, Differentiation & the Future of Cannabis Retail

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, I’m thrilled to welcome back Chris Jones, Founder and CEO of Cannabis Xpress, for his third appearance on the show. Chris offers an insider’s view of the fast-changing cannabis retail landscape in Canada. Since we last spoke, Cannabis Xpress has grown to 21 stores—14 in Ontario and 7 in New Brunswick—becoming the largest private cannabis retailer in New Brunswick.

Chris shares how his focus on underserved communities and cost-efficient, compact store formats has created a sustainable and profitable business model in a sector plagued by high overhead, oversupply, and stiff competition. He explains why small-town locations, limited SKU count, and fast, expert service are at the heart of his winning value proposition.

We explore the broader industry landscape, including how Ontario’s cannabis market has peaked and is now in a correction phase, with closures and lease renewals looming. Chris offers a frank take on regulatory blind spots that allowed a flood of stores—sometimes side by side—without proper planning. He also speaks to the remaining dominance of the illicit market, and how changes to edible dosage limits, store hours, and licensing could help bring more consumers into the legal fold.

Chris doesn’t shy away from highlighting the pros and cons of the Canadian system compared to U.S. states like California and New York, where regulatory complexity and taxation have stifled growth. Yet, he remains optimistic about the future of cannabis retail—both in Canada and abroad.

Looking ahead, Chris reveals plans to pursue more licenses in Atlantic Canada, potentially introduce private label products, and eventually sell the business. Despite a challenging retail environment, Cannabis Xpress is not just surviving—it’s thriving, with over $10 million in revenue and 70 employees across Canada.

The Voice of Retail podcast is presented by Hale, a performance marketing partner trusted by brands like ASICS, Saje, and Orangetheory to scale with focus and impact.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.