Halo Collective Announces Appointment of Ryan Kunkel, CEO, and Founder of Cannabis Retailer "Have a Heart" as Vice Chairman and a Director
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TORONTO, April 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Halo Collective Inc. ("Halo" or the "Company") (NEO: HALO) (OTCQX: AGEEF) (Germany: A9KN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ryan Kunkel, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Have a Heart, to the Halo team as the Company's Vice Chairman and as an Independent Director of the Company.
Mr. Kunkel is a leading industry expert and entrepreneur in cannabis, influencing its legal, regulatory, and operational development since the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington state in 2011. He was instrumental in the raise of $50M in two private offerings, which enabled him to expand the Have a Heart footprint by creating an organizational infrastructure to maintain the dispensary storefronts at a rapid pace. With a focus on operations, fundraising, and application development, Kunkel quickly expanded the brand to 13 operational stores, in six different states with a total of 26 winning applications. Under his stewardship, the Have a Heart business grew to more than 500 active employees. His expertise in the industry enabled him to identify and capture the leading market share in Washington state, one of the most saturated cannabis markets in the U.S.
Have a Heart consistently ranks among the top 20 dispensaries in Washington state. Currently, the Belltown (7th) and Skyway (19th) locations boast this ranking, which Kunkel attributes to the distinctive product procurement and knowledge held by employees, who are genuinely familiar with the product mix. Have a Heart takes pride in placing the customer first and responds to comments, feedback, priding itself on excellent customer service.
Mr. Kunkel's professional accolades include Marijuana Venture's 40 under 40 in 2018, where he was recognized for his success and promise in the cannabis industry with Have a Heart's track record and performance. He continued to build on this opening delivery and retail operations in five jurisdictions across California. The 2019 gross revenue for Have a Heart was $58.2M, with sales per square foot averaging $8,553.
As a primary driving force in the marketplace, Mr. Kunkel has materialized the mission of Have a Heart for optimal customer service and rapid revenue growth. He has leveraged his network and experience to expand the brand into one of the largest chains of dispensaries on the west coast of the United States. Halo's vertically integrated business model paired with Kunkel's top industry expertise are expected to drive further revenue for Halo as a whole, with the implementation of his strategic planning across all landscapes.
"As our operations continue to expand and we open our first dispensaries in Los Angeles and acquire Kush Bar dispensaries from High Tide in Alberta, Canada, it's imperative for Halo to look at the big picture and bring Ryan to our senior team. Ryan is a highly knowledgeable cannabis expert and highly successful entrepreneur," said Louisa Mojela, Executive Chairman of Halo. "Our strategic planning processes are ever-evolving; so, having a Vice-Chairman such as Ryan to collaborate with is part of an exciting new chapter as we look to expand our retail footprint aggressively."
Mr. Kunkel commented, "I am thrilled to join the Halo Collective team at this critical juncture and look forward to working with the Company to help build its business and create shareholder value."
For more information about Have a Heart, please visit www.haveaheartcc.com
About Halo Collective
Halo is a leading, vertically integrated cannabis company that cultivates, extracts, manufactures, and distributes quality cannabis flower, oils, and concentrates and has sold approximately nine million grams of oils and concentrates since inception. Halo continues to evolve its business and scale efficiently, partnering with trustworthy leaders in the industry, who value the Company's operational expertise in bringing top-tier products to market. Current growth includes expansion in key U.S. markets, the United Kingdom and Africa, with planned expansion into the Canadian retail market.
Halo is led by a strong, diverse, and innovative management team with deep industry knowledge and blue-chip experience. The Company is currently operating in the United States in California and Oregon. The Company sells cannabis products principally to dispensaries under its brands, Hush, Mojave, and Exhale, and under partnership or license with OG DNA Genetics, Terphogz (doing business as Zkittlez™) and FlowerShop*, a cannabis lifestyle and conceptual wellness brand in which G-Eazy is a partner and key member of Flowershop*.
As part of continued expansion and vertical integration in the U.S., Halo boasts several grow operations throughout Oregon and California. In Oregon, the Company has a combined 7 acres of outdoor cultivation, including East Evans Creek, a six-acre grow site in Jackson County, and Winberry Farms, a one-acre grow site located 30 miles outside Eugene in Lane County. In California, the Company is building out Ukiah Ventures, a planned 30,000-square-foot indoor grow, processing, and manufacturing facility including up to an additional five acres of industrial land to expand. Recently, Halo partnered with Green Matter Holding to purchase Bar X Ranch in Lake County, developing up to 80 acres of cultivation which would comprise the largest grow in Northern California.
Internationally, the Company's subsidiary Bophelo Bioscience & Wellness (Pty) Ltd. ("Bophelo") is currently cultivating cannabis in Lesotho, which holds one of the most extensive marijuana cultivation licenses in Africa with a future capacity of up to 495 acres. To further Halo's global presence, the Company has recently acquired CBPM importation and distribution licensing in the United Kingdom via cannabis suppliers Canmart Ltd ("Canmart"). Halo expects the cultivation and manufacturing operations of Bophelo, combined with the importation and distribution capabilities of Canmart, to drive a well-positioned business to serve the U.K. market.
The Company also has acquired a range of software development assets, including technology platforms CannPOS, Cannalift, and, more recently, CannaFeels. Halo also owns the discrete sublingual dosing technology, Accudab. The Company intends to spin-off these assets along with its intellectual property and patent application into Halo Tek, which is planned to be its own public company by way of a return of capital to Halo's shareholders.
For further information regarding Halo, see Halo's disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Connect with Halo Collective: Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Halo's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Halo's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to: anticipated benefits from Mr. Kunkel's appointment as an advisor, Halo's planned expansion into the Canadian retail market, the expected size and capabilities of the final facility planned at Ukiah Ventures, the size of Halo's planned cultivation facility in Northern California and the ability of Bophelo and Canmart to serve the U.K. market.
By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Halo is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Halo has made certain assumptions. Although Halo believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Among others, the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: delays in obtaining required licenses or approvals, delays or unforeseen costs incurred in connection with construction, the ability of competitors to scale operations in Northern California, delays or unforeseen difficulties in connection with the cultivation and harvest of Halo's raw material, changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; and the other risks disclosed in the Company's annual information form dated March 31, 2021 and other disclosure documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Halo does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to Halo or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
SOURCE Halo Collective Inc.
Halo Collective, Investor Relations, [email protected], www.haloco.com/investors
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