GROWING A BUSINESS
New store in Stratford sells products for growing and consuming pot
New store in Stratford sells products for growing and consuming pot
The store screams pot. A large, amusing cardboard cut out of classic comedic stoners Cheech and Chong is propped against a wall.
Bongs of all shapes, colours and sizes line shelves along another wall.
Then, there is the name of the new Stratford store – GrowDaddy – and the not-so-coincidental opening date last week on April 20, also known as National Marijuana Day.
The target consumer appears quite clear.
So far, roughly half the people who have come into the store ask if marijuana is for sale.
“Often they will walk in and say ‘What are you selling?’’ says owner Chris Furlong.
He knows he disappoints some when he informs them that he isn’t pushing pot. That would be illegal, he notes.
Furlong does, however, sell numerous products to help grow — and consume — marijuana.
“We don’t touch the product,’’ he says.
Furlong is not sure if he will sell cannabis even when it becomes legal to do so in Canada. Ottawa hopes to officially legalize marijuana for recreational use by the summer of 2018.
“I feel there will be a lot of red tape,’’ he says.
He believes his store fills a strong niche, as his website notes, to help people “every step of the way with your growing experience.’’
His mission, again noted on the website, growdaddycanada. com, is to provide the highest level of information and service to customers.
“You get knowledge when you come in here,’’ he told The Guardian Wednesday. “We know our products.’’ Furlong grew his knowledge in the business working at a similar store in Toronto.
He has since demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit in Prince Edward Island.
He owns two Taco Boyz fast-food establishments in Charlottetown and has a third opening soon in New Brunswick.
“I’ve had great success with it,” he said.
Now he sees a strong business opportunity in providing hydroponic equipment and accessories, selling items like grow tents, nutrients and grow lights.
In addition to the recently opened store in Stratford, Furlong is also running an online store.
“I just knew there was a good industry in this,’’ he says.
He adds that he is “gearing up for a market of recreational users.’’
Last year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer predicted approximately 600,000 more Canadians may smoke marijuana when it is legalized.