Expansion enables Cresco to immediately address Illinois’ cannabis demand/supply imbalance
CHICAGO-April 16, 2020-(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cresco Labs (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF) (“Cresco” or “the Company”), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, announced today that it has completed the expansion of its cultivation facility in Lincoln, IL, the largest in the state,1 and the first phase of expansion at its Kankakee facility. These expansions add almost 180,000 square feet of additional indoor and greenhouse cultivation space, bringing the total cultivation space2 to 215,000 square feet across all three of its Illinois facilties. As the only operator in Illinois with three cultivation sites which are licensed to grow up to 630,000 square feet of flowering canopy3 (“Canopy”), Cresco has a unique competitive advantage and is positioned to build on its already market-leading position.
“Illinois represents one of the largest opportunities in U.S. cannabis, and at Cresco Labs we are committed to strengthening our share in this high growth market. The expansion of our Illinois cultivation footprint at both our Lincoln and Kankakee facilities enables us to quickly bring additional capacity to such a growing, high-demand market, support supply to our statewide dispensary and wholesale network, and simultaneously cater to both medical and recreational consumers in our home state. The completion of these two fully-funded, industrial-scale expansion projects demonstrates the many strengths of Cresco’s team and our unique ability to continually execute on plan. Due to our phased construction schedule, our first harvests from the additional capacity recently occurred and they will bring limited incremental supply to market toward the end of May and significantly ramp up through Q3. This should dramatically increase sales in the state and help to address the current supply-demand imbalance,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ CEO and Co-founder.
We are proud to have the largest production capacity in this market, a widely-recognized portfolio of branded products and a rapidly growing retail footprint. The increase in profitability we expect to see over the course of the year will demonstrate the value of Cresco’s stated strategy of going deep in key states and focusing on brands and wholesale distribution.
Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ CEO and Co-founder
Furthermore, to meet the increasing demand in the state, the Company has also bolstered its retail presence through its Sunnyside dispensaries. The Company currently operates five dispensaries. It recently received approval to open its sixth location, and it has licenses to open an additional four. The Company has announced its intention to open locations in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, as well as Danville, Schaumburg and South Beloit in Illinois.
Cresco currently sells into 100% of licensed dispensaries in Illinois and has maintained its leading market share of wholesale sales in the state. The Company sells its Remedi, Cresco, Reserve, High Supply and Mindy’s Chef Led Artisanal Edibles products wholesale throughout Illinois, and the Company’s products are currently available at every dispensary in the state.
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About Cresco Labs:
Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically-integrated multi-state cannabis operators in the United States. Cresco is built to become the most important company in the cannabis industry by combining the most strategic geographic footprint with one of the leading distribution platforms in North America. Employing a consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) approach to cannabis, Cresco’s house of brands is designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and includes some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, Remedi and Mindy’s, a line of edibles created by James Beard Award-winning chef Mindy Segal. Sunnyside*, Cresco’s national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer designed to build trust, education and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco has launched the industry’s first national comprehensive Social Equity and Educational Development (SEED) initiative designed to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge and opportunity to work in and own businesses in the cannabis industry. Learn more about Cresco Labs at www.crescolabs.com.
1 State of Illinois, Department of Agriculture cannabis cultivation licenses
2 Total cultivation space represents all areas used in cultivation including vegetative, mother and flowering plant rooms
3 Flowering canopy represents strictly the room used to grow flowering cannabis plants
