US shopping centres turn to cannabis
Shopping centre owners have tried pop-up stores, water parks, even an indoor ski run to attract shoppers. Now a mall landlord is turning to the cannabis plant.
Simon Property Group has reached agreement with Green Growth Brands, an Ohio-based company that plans to open stores in as many as 108 locations owned by the shopping centre owner. Green Growth’s Seventh Sense Botanical Therapy shops will sell products infused with cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical found in hemp.
The stores aren’t dealing pot. Marijuana and hemp are separate species in the cannabis plant family and produce different effects on the user.
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CBD sellers say its use can alleviate stress or reduce pain without getting the user high.
“We believe these legal products are consistent with our family-friendly positioning while meeting the needs of our shoppers who seek new health and wellness options,” a Simon Property spokesman said.
Green Growth planned to expand across 300 US shopping centres by the end of the year, chief executive Peter Horvath said. The Toronto-listed company’s stores sell CBD topical products such as cannabis-infused face oils and body lotions priced around $US10-$US39.
Its first kiosk opened in Fayette Mall in Lexington, Kentucky, this month. The first with Simon Property will be at Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, located in a prime spot next to Sephora, Apple and Tesla stores.
Some mall owners, especially in more conservative communities, are unlikely to follow Simon’s lead.
“You don’t want to alienate huge swathes of the population,” said Nick Egelanian, founder and president of Site Works Retail, a retail consulting firm. He noted communities in the Bible Belt region were still against marijuana and CBD products.
Even though most states require a customer be at least 21 years old to purchase CBD, some parents also worry public displays of hemp in malls will send a message to children that these are now mainstream products.
Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organisation against the legalisation and commercialisation of marijuana, said some tests of CBD products found mould, heavy metal and pesticides.
“I think it’s incredibly risky for Simon and other landlords to be opening themselves to a ton of liability,” he says.
A Simon Property spokesman said: “Green Growth does not market misleading products and is prohibited by our lease from selling anything illegal.”
A Green Growth spokesman said its raw materials were tested by third-party facilities for the presence of mould, heavy metal, pesticides and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels.
Some landlords say CBD is an acceptable alternative when traditional mall outlets such as clothing continue to close.
– The Wall Street Journal
