Latest news with #IrwinSimon
Canada News.Net
27-07-2025
- Business
- Canada News.Net
THC beverages bite into beer sales, alcohol giants plan counter
NEW YORK CITY, New York: As cannabis-infused drinks grow in popularity and take over retail shelf space once dominated by beer and spirits, major alcohol companies are preparing for a potential pivot into the emerging category. THC drinks—infused with the psychoactive compound found in marijuana—are being sold legally across many U.S. states when derived from hemp, a federally legal crop. These hemp-based beverages are increasingly available in liquor stores, convenience shops, and supermarkets, offering a legal workaround to traditional dispensary restrictions. While leading alcohol companies have largely sat out this boom, a shift is underway. Founders of cannabis beverage brands, ingredient suppliers, and drink manufacturers told Reuters that some big players are now exploring entry points into the market, prompted by declining alcohol sales and growing consumer interest in alternatives. Constellation Brands has been studying hemp-based cannabis drinks, according to a source familiar with its plans. Pernod Ricard recently met with Brez, a THC beverage brand, to discuss a possible investment. "They did not invest now but are circling," said Brez founder Aaron Nosbisch. Pernod declined to comment. U.S. alcohol sales have cooled since their pandemic-era spike. Beer volumes dropped nearly 6 percent through May, while spirits and wine declined by 5.6 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Public health warnings linking alcohol to cancer have also pressured the industry. Meanwhile, hemp-based THC drinks are booming. The market is expected to top US$1 billion in sales this year and quadruple by 2028, according to Euromonitor. Companies like Tilray are already moving in. Its THC seltzers, sold through existing beer distributors, are now available in 13 states. "There's not a real leader... and that's what we look to do," said CEO Irwin Simon. Legacy alcohol brands are cautiously experimenting. Boston Beer, known for Sam Adams, is testing a hemp-based version of its THC tea brand Teapot in the U.S., following its rollout in Canada. "This is a source of growth for our organization, flat out," said Paul Weaver, who leads the company's cannabis division. But challenges remain. State regulations vary widely. California banned hemp-based drinks last year, while other states have imposed taxes or restrictions. Senator Mitch McConnell recently proposed federal limits on intoxicating hemp products to keep them away from children. Big brewers have also faced past setbacks. In 2022, Anheuser-Busch exited its cannabis joint venture in Canada, and Molson Coors shut its CBD beverage division in the U.S. that same year. Despite this, retail enthusiasm is strong. Liquor stores report that THC beverages are driving higher margins than beer or spirits. At Top Ten Liquors in Minnesota, they now account for 15 percent of business and could soon rival wine in sales. "The soccer mom has really embraced the category," said CEO Jon Halper. Distributors, too, are seeing the shift. Southern Horizon Logistics now sells more hemp-based drinks than wine and spirits. Best Brands CEO Ryan Moses said growth in this segment helped avoid layoffs by reallocating staff. For consumers like Josh Goldberg, who swapped beer for THC seltzers two years ago, the appeal is simple: "It replaces the physical act of drinking with drinking something else."
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tilray Brands to Present at TD Cowen's 9th Annual Future of the Consumer Conference
NEW YORK and LEAMINGTON, Ontario, May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tilray Brands, Inc. ('Tilray') (NASDAQ: TLRY and TSX: TLRY), a global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company at the forefront of the beverage, cannabis and wellness industries, today announced that Irwin D. Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Carl Merton, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in a fireside chat and host one-on-one meetings at the TD Cowen 9th Annual Future of the Consumer Conference on June 3, 2025, in New York, NY. The fireside chat is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET and a webcast will be available on Events & Presentations section of Tilray's Investor Relations website. To schedule a one-on-one meeting, please reach out to your TD Cowen representative. About Tilray Brands Tilray Brands, Inc. ('Tilray') (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), is a leading global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Latin America that is leading as a transformative force at the nexus of cannabis, beverage, wellness, and entertainment, elevating lives through moments of connection. Tilray's mission is to be a leading premium lifestyle company with a house of brands and innovative products that inspire joy and create memorable experiences. Tilray's unprecedented platform supports over 40 brands in over 20 countries, including comprehensive cannabis offerings, hemp-based foods, and craft beverages. For more information on how we are elevating lives through moments of connection, visit and follow @Tilray on all social platforms. Contacts: Investor Relationsinvestors@ Medianews@ in to access your portfolio
CBC
18-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Cape Breton Eagles get an early start on search for new head coach
Social Sharing The Cape Breton Eagles say they are not worried about next season after the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League team lost its fourth head coach in the past six seasons. They've already received more than 20 resumés and some of the applicants have plenty of experience. Head coach Louis Robitaille quit on Monday after 14 seasons in the QMJHL — the last two with the Eagles — to take a job with the Omskie Krylia in Russia. Eagles owner Irwin Simon said others left due to the pandemic or for family or other reasons. "Some of it is … just timing, bad luck, personal reasons, but it's not like every coach that came here we fired and they didn't want to be here," he said Thursday, following a live Facebook update for the community and fans. "I think if you put those four or five together, we never had 20 applicants altogether for any of those, so it shows you how people believe in Cape Breton and the Eagles today, which is great to see, and this is only our second [or] third day into it." General manager Sylvain Couturier said at least one applicant has experience in the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League. "Having that many people that want to come here, and the quality of the people that want to come here, gives me the confidence ... that we're going to get the right one and we're going to have a good one, too." The league draft is June 4-5, but Couturier said he's in no rush to hire a new head coach before then. Both he and Simon wished Robitaille the best in his new role, calling it a step up. Earlier this week, Robitaille told CBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton he is moving to Russia this summer, but his family will stay behind in Cape Breton. Robitaille said it will require a number of adjustments, not only because of the language, but he's leaving behind a youth developmental league to coach in the professional ranks. There will be some culture shock, but he said he's looking forward to it. Omsk is "right in the middle of Russia, in Siberia," Robitaille said. Cape Breton Eagles seek new head coach 3 days ago Duration 1:46 Louis Robitaille is leaving for a position in Russia. As Anna Rak reports, management is looking for someone to win and connect with the community. "It's the fourth biggest city in Russia, but it's in the middle of the country, right above Kazakhstan, but like I said it's a big city with a lot of culture." Omskie Krylia is in the All-Russian Hockey League, which is the feeder for the Kontinental Hockey League, the highest league in that country. The league is "basically the American [Hockey] League over there," Robitaille said. "It's a pro league and … my role will consist not only to be with that team, but I will be part of the KHL team, which is the NHL of Russia." Robitaille was hired in the summer of 2023 and coached the Eagles to a record of 72-49-5-5. The Eagles ended the 2025 season ninth in the 18-team league with a record of 34-23-4-3. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Couturier said he has a core of good players returning next season and he hopes to have a new head coach by July 1. Simon said he was disappointed with last season, but the franchise is solid, making it an attractive place for a head coach to land. Team seeks arena improvements In the meantime, Simon was meeting this week with officials from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to pitch the need for arena improvements. It was built nearly 40 years ago and needs new seats and improvements to the concession area, entrances, dressing rooms and training centre, Simon said. The team brings up to $8 million into the local economy every year, but the arena needs upgrades not just for hockey, he said. "Centre 200 should be about athletics, arts, bringing community together, doing things here and I think as a building, it ultimately needs a facelift," Simon said. CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke has said Centre 200 is one of several major projects that need funding and he expects it'll be on a list of priorities for council to discuss this fall.
CTV News
18-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Cape Breton Eagles seek fifth new head coach in six years
Left to right - Irwin Simon (majority owner, Cape Breton Eagles), Sylvain Couturier (general manager) and John Hanna (assistant general manager) are pictured at a table during a news conference at Sydney's Centre 200.
Forbes
04-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why One-Time Cannabis Darling Tilray Is Now High On Beer
In July 2018, Tilray, the Canadian-based cannabis company, went public on the Nasdaq, becoming one of the first weed firms to list on a big U.S. exchange. On its first day of trading, shares jumped 35% and Tilray became the first beloved pot stock. A few months later, Tilray hit $214 per share, valuing the startup—which had $27.5 million in revenue at the time—at $17 billion, an all-time high. But shares have been in a painful decline ever since. After seven years of no meaningful movement at the federal level to legalize marijuana in America and brutal competition in Canada's small cannabis market, Tilray's stock price has now dropped below $1, recently trading at 49 cents. Last month, the Nasdaq sent the company a warning that it could be delisted. Irwin Simon, who became CEO of Tilray in 2021 after the company merged with another Canadian cannabis company Aphria, which he was CEO of at the time, is well aware that his company's stock price is in the toilet—and he believes he has a plan to fix it. Simon, who oversaw Tilray's acquisition of more than a dozen craft beer and spirits brands over the last few years, says he is 'not nervous' about getting delisted because he expects shareholders to approve a reverse stock split in July, which would bring the share price over a $1 again. 'We've got great brands, great businesses, a good balance sheet, a real good organization, but yeah, I got a shitty stock price,' Simon says while sitting in his corner office in Midtown Manhattan. 'The good news is that there's optionality. And we're certainly not the ugliest cannabis company, certainly not the ugliest beer company out there. I'm trying to figure out, with the strategy we have in place, what other opportunities there for us.' Simon Says: 'Cannabis does ultimately cannibalize alcohol sales,' says Tilray CEO Irwin Simon. 'If I get cannibalized on one end, I want to be in the business that's cannibalizing.' TILRAY Simon, who founded Hain Celestial Group in 1993, an organic food company he took public and grew into a $3 billion (annual sales) business, oversaw the merger of Aphria and Tilray four years ago. The deal, which valued the combined company at nearly $4 billion, was structured as a reverse acquisition of Tilray—each Aphria shareholder received approximately 0.8 Tilray shares, worth $6.20 at the time, for each Aphria share they owned. Despite its market woes, Tilray remains one of the biggest cannabis producers in the world, growing about 170 metric tons of marijuana each year, which is sold across 20 countries from Canada to Europe to Australia. (It cannot sell marijuana in the U.S. due to federal law.). After acquiring eight craft beer companies from Anheuser-Busch and four from Molson Coors, it is also now the fourth largest craft brewer in the U.S. with regional brands that include New York's Montauk Brewing, Georgia's SweetWater and Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery. (Tilray also owns Colorado-based blended bourbon whiskey maker Breckenridge Distillery.) Overall revenues were $788 million last year but Tilray somehow managed to lose $222 million. Although the company is losing heaps of money, it has $230 million in cash and has trimmed its losses from a staggering $1.4 billion in 2023. Thanks to Simon's string of acquisitions, a strategy he says is due to his fear of being a 'one-trick pony,' Tilray is no longer just a cannabis company. He cringes at the word 'weed' and points to Tilray's $80 million (annual sales) medical marijuana business. (Tilray sells a total of $275 million of cannabis when recreational sales in included.) He wants investors to believe that the brand, which derives 60% of its revenue from selling cannabis and beer, is really a diversified pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods company with a focus on 'bringing people together for a good time.' Suds and Buds: Tilray, the biggest cannabis producer in Canada, is now the fourth-largest craft brewer in the United States. And its hemp-derived THC drinks, which launched in the U.S. last year, are expected to be a lucrative new revenue stream. Tilray Last year, 35% Tilray's revenue came from marijuana while 25% came from its alcohol division. Tilray also operates a pharmaceutical distribution business in Europe, which delivers its medical cannabis as well as other medications to pharmacies and is responsible for 33% of its revenue. The company's wellness division features hemp-based food brands like Manitoba Harvest and brings in about 7% of the company's revenue. The company has suffered in part because the Canadian cannabis market is small—$4 billion in annual sales, tiny compared to the $32 billion legal market in the U.S.—and is saturated with competitors and hampered by high taxes. Tilray is the biggest operator in Canada by revenue, but it only has an about 10% market share. With too many companies producing too much cannabis, prices have cratered and margins have been vaporized. Another factor is that federal cannabis reform has stalled in the U.S., which for Tilray and other Canadian operators has been devastating. The plan has always been to expand into the U.S. market, but it can't until the federal government changes the marijuana laws. 'I can't sell [cannabis] in the U.S. market today, and that bothers the hell out of me,' says Simon. While it is easy to write off Tilray as a bad company, some industry insiders believe it could in a good position to ride out the challenges of the Canadian market. After all, it has about $230 million in cash on its balance sheet. Kristoffer Inton, an analyst from Morningstar who covers Tilray, says the company is the best positioned operator in Canada. He says it is 'undervalued' but 'very risky.' 'To call them a bad company isn't truly accurate,' says Inton. 'They're just in a market where nobody makes money.' Another issue weighing down the stock price is that the majority of Tilray's shareholders, like any other cannabis company, lacks institutional investors. About 75% of Tilray's shares are owned by retail investors, meaning the company does not have the stability of big shareholders who can help anchor a company's stock price. Tilray is not alone. Pot stocks are out of vogue. MSOS, the industry's biggest ETF, is down 88% from 2020. Inton says that retail investors trade on sentiment, and the sentiment around cannabis is 'quite negative now.' 'I think right now [being a cannabis company] hurts me,' Simon says. Pivoting to alcohol has helped diversify Tilray's revenue, but ironically legal weed has been hurting beer sales in the U.S. According to the Brewers Association, craft beer production decreased 4% in 2024 over the prior year, the third consecutive decline as consumer preferences continue to change. 'Cannabis does ultimately cannibalize alcohol sales,' Simon concedes. 'If I get cannibalized on one end, I want to be in the business that's cannibalizing.' To that end, he believes that Tilray's beverage business can expand through its intoxicating hemp-derived THC drink brands Happy Flower, Herb & Bloom and Fizzy Jane's. Thanks to hemp products being federally legal through the 2018 Farm Bill, Tilray sells its hemp beverages across 13 states in the U.S., with its biggest markets in Minnesota, Florida and Texas. Tilray launched hemp drinks in the U.S. last year and has yet to report revenue from this division. And THC-infused beverages, which are about 2% of the industry but growing rapidly, is a line of business that Simon is excited about. Legal High: Tilray's portfolio includes three THC-infused hemp beverage brands in the U.S. Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, THC derived from hemp is federally legal. TILRAY 'These hemp drinks are very big,' Simon says, while cracking open a can of Liquid Love, a Tilray brand of sparkling water. 'They're the next alcoholic seltzer. If I could sell it in 50 states, it would be a billion-dollar business for Tilray tomorrow.' Simon's diversification strategy, however, will take time to reverse its fortunes. Its revenue dipped 1% last quarter compared to the same time period in 2024, and the company lowered its full-year net revenue guidance to $850 million to $900 million down from $950 million to $1 billion. But Simon looks at Big Tobacco stocks for inspiration. Philip Morris International, which owns Zyn, the nicotine pouch juggernaut, through its subsidiary Swedish Match, has seen its stock price grow 234% since 2008. And considering that marijuana is not responsible for 480,000 American deaths each year like cigarettes, Simon believes Tilray's stock could do even better. 'I'm building something different,' says Simon. 'There is no company out there today that has cannabis, spirits, beer and hemp foods, so I'm either real smart or real dumb, you know?'
