The Voice of Retail Special Retail Council of Canada Retail Cannabis Forum Edition: Rethinking Traditional In-store Experience panel discussion
Welcome to the Voice of Retail special Retail Cannabis Forum Store edition, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc and this special edition podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Recorded live in Toronto March 26 at RCC’s first ever Retail Cannabis forum I moderated the Rethinking Traditional In-store Experience panel.
According to Environics Analytics CannabisInsights, powered by Vividata, 29% of Canadians 19 and older have consumed cannabis, 41% of Canadians under the age 35 have consumed cannabis.
Canada currently has 206 bricks and mortar retail cannabis locations, in all Provinces and Territories except for Ontario which opens up April 1 2019.
Alberta leads with 75, Newfoundland with 25, Saskatchewan with 21, New Brunswick 20, B.C. 14, Quebec 13, North West Territories 5 and Yukon 1 in Whitehorse.
What has become clear from the early sales numbers is that notwithstanding the availability of cannabis online, consumers seek out the in-store experience - as they do in traditional retail - it is a vital component of this sector of the industry
Have a listen as we explore these issues on the Rethinking Traditional In-store experience panel
RCC’s Retail Cannabis forum was generously supported by J Ross Retail Recruiters, Lift & Co., March Networks, Midfield and Spiritleaf, along with media partners Ad Standards, Cannabis Retailer and The Growth Op.
I’m Michael LeBlanc Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and you can learn more about me at www.meleblanc.co , stay tuned for our next regular edition of the podcast available each and every Friday. If you like this edition please subscribe, rate it on iTunes and tell all your LinkedIn friends!
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.