New CEO Of Liquor Corporation, Cannabis NB Wants To Keep The Momentum Going
Lori Stickles’ permanent promotion to CEO and President of Alcool NB Liquor (ANBL) and Cannabis NB is the culmination of her efforts to navigate both provincial Crown corporations through troubled times.
“I’m so excited and thrilled to be leading such an amazing team of people, who are so passionate about what they do … I tell people I’ve won the job lottery,” Stickles told Huddle.
Stickles took over the position for good on September 7, after serving as an interim replacement for former CEO and President Patrick Parent, who resigned in 2020 to return to the private sector.
Stickles joined ANBL and Cannabis NB in October 2018 as vice-president and chief financial officer.
Working with Cannabis NB in its early days, Stickles weathered the Crown corporation’s early millions in losses in the months after its launch – and the ensuing controversy over whether or not to privatize it, a process that resulted in eight private bids in an abandoned call for proposals.
“Right from the beginning, there was a lot of scrutiny around Cannabis NB. The spotlight was on whether we’d make money [and] when we’d be profitable. In my role, I was really able to dig in and focus on the business, and ways to reduce costs and grow the top line and show the province we would be profitable,” she said.
Stickles credited her own leadership and business model, and the dedication of frontline team members “treating it like their own business” in moving Cannabis NB back into the black ink with its first profits in late 2019.
And with net income up 100 percent this past quarter, year-over-year, versus the same quarter in 2020 and sales up 21 percent, Stickles sees good things in Cannabis NB’s future.
She noted cannabis sales are improving because there is more cannabis on the market.
“In the early days, there wasn’t a lot of product on the market, and it was a supplier’s market, so we had to take whatever could and there wasn’t a lot of variety,” said Stickles.
“Sourcing products has been a challenge sometimes, and it’s getting more costly, so we’re looking to see how we can retool things a bit.”
Now, with more producers and products entering the market, the price of cannabis is dropping.
“We’ve been able to increase our portfolio, negotiate better pricing and offer better pricing to our customers,” said Stickles.
Cannabis NB is also gearing up for a potential late fall launch of its FarmGate program, which will allow for on-site storefront sales of cannabis products for local licensed cannabis producers.
“We’re the second jurisdiction in Canada to launch this kind of program, only behind Ontario,” she noted.
So far, five licensed producers have shown interest, and Stickles predicted a first offering to appear on the market later this fall.
With ANBL and Cannabis NB ahead of last year in alcohol and cannabis sales, Stickles said she hopes to continue on that momentum.
That momentum, in fact, is part of her plan. Stickles named pandemic recovery and clinching a deal with the union as her immediate priorities.
“We are following the process right now and continuing to have an ongoing dialogue with the union and are hopeful we can reach an agreement,” she said of the bargaining with the union that represents 550 of ANBL’s staff of 700 people, noting she couldn’t disclose further details about that bargaining at the time of writing.
“We’re looking to have resolution, and then to move forward on what’s going to happen coming out of Covid,” she added.
Deemed an essential service, Stickles said ANBL has faced cost pressures relating to supply chain and logistical hiccups, with container and shipping prices shooting up.
Those challenges were accompanied by shifting customer spending habits, with customers visiting ANBL stores less, but buying larger amounts of alcohol at once, with two-fours and boxed wine becoming more popular during the pandemic.
“We saw people migrating and shifting back to their more trusted brands. They were just trying to limit the number of times they went out to the store,” said Stickles.
That being said, Stickles noted that trend is beginning to slowly shift, with boxed wine losing popularity but two-fours still holding strong.
“Traffic has returned to pretty much normal, but people are still buying larger amounts,” said Stickles.
Getting a handle on customer trends – and what they want – is another goal Stickles cited.
“There’s so much noise in the data right now when you look back over the past couple of years so we’re still not sure what is a permanent trend and what is a hangover from what’s happening around us because of Covid-19,” she said.
“People’s behavior is shifting, but we’re not seeing it go back to what it was like before Covid-19 yet.”
Going forward, Stickles said she wants to keep ANBL and Cannabis NB a top-notch retail experience for customers and a sound investment for its shareholders.
“We’re looking for ways we can be more innovative and efficient. So really, I want to bring back excitement to retail. I read a quote the other day that said, ‘Retail is not dead, but boring retail is,’ and I believe customers, especially coming out of Covid, are looking for excitement in the retail experience,” said Stickles.
“We want to connect with our customers and understand what they’re looking for.”
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