/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED
STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED
STATES WIRE SERVICES/
TORONTO, Jan. 8, 2019 /CNW/ - At the start of the new
year, Lift & Co. Corp. (TSXV: LIFT) ("Lift & Co." or the
"Company") is pleased to summarize its growth and milestones in
2018 as it prepares for continued growth in 2019. By all measures,
2018 marked the Company's most successful year since incorporation,
as Lift & Co.:
- Posted $3.7 million in revenues
on a trailing-twelve-months ("TTM") basis as at September 30, 2018, representing a 232% increase
over the prior year;
- Successfully listed on the TSXV on September 17th, 2018 and raised over
$10 million in the seven preceding
months;
- Launched a retail training certification through an exclusive
partnership with MADD Canada that has been adopted in six Canadian
jurisdictions, including multi-year agreements with three Crown
corporations;
- Built several strategic products to support a first-mover
advantage in the recreational marketplace; and
- Amassed a 194% increase in total branded cannabis product
reviews through the Company's website, lift.co, as at September 30.
Operational Highlights
The legalization of recreational-use cannabis in Canada on October 17,
2018 created a new multi-billion-dollar consumer packaged
goods ("CPG") industry. However, while CPG leaders in other
industries benefit from brand differentiation, effective
advertising, and advanced consumer and product analytics, the
cannabis industry lacks these basic infrastructures due to
tobacco-like marketing restrictions, which severely limit licensed
retailers' and producers' ability to advertise, understand their
consumer, and differentiate their brands.
Lift & Co. deployed capital throughout 2018 to build a
scalable platform business model that leverages events, content and
data insights to solve the information gap along the value chain,
from end consumer and licensed retailer up to licensed
producer:
- Accelerated increase in data collection. As at
September 30, 2018, the Company had
collected 72,720 cumulative product reviews – a 194% increase over
the prior year – to further enable the platform to serve as a
lucrative marketing engine and data insight source for the
recreational market.
- Launched a suite of retail revenue streams. In
June 2018, the Company launched the
Lift & Co. Cannabis Training Retail Certification (the
"Certification") with an exclusive, multi-year deal with MADD
Canada, and signed the Company's first Certification client – a
multi-year deal with the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation shortly
thereafter on July 11, 2018. By the
end of the year, Lift & Co. signed multi-year deals with two
additional government and four private retailers, bringing
Certification training to five provinces and one territory in under
6 months since launch.
- Investment into new data products. The Company leveraged
its track record as a leading consumer review and education
platform for medical cannabis to launch several strategic products
upon legalization on October 17,
These included: a consumer-facing, data-driven product
recommendation tool; and Lift & Co. Rewards, the world's first
rewards program for federally regulated recreational cannabis which
incentivizes lift.co users to leave comprehensive reviews in
exchange for gift cards at major retailers. The Company also
updated its reviews with receipt scanning technology, combining
reviews with purchase receipts and correlating consumer behavioral
data with transactional insights.
- Built industry event leadership. The Company uses
industry events to grow its platform business through lead
generation for its services and data products. Both the
Vancouver and Toronto Lift &
Co. Cannabis Expos had record attendance and revenues, with over
30,000 guests and $3.2 million in
revenues between the two 2018 events. Finally, the Company launched
the inaugural Lift & Co. Retail Tradeshow in Calgary, Alberta through a multi-year
partnership with the Cannabis Council of Canada, which represents over 85 per cent of
current legal cultivation in Canada, and leveraged the event to distribute
the Certification and its data products to licensed producers
together with licensed retailers.
- Developed valuable IP that is being licensed by the
industry. The sold-out fifth annual Canadian Cannabis Awards
(the "CCAs"), hosted on November 29,
are the gold-standard for excellence in cannabis. With over 48
million impressions from media and resultant LP press releases – a
168% increase over the prior year - the CCAs are a valuable channel
to differentiate and market cannabis brands. The brand value was
further realized with a licensing deal with cannabis curators
AHLOT, which will see CCA-winning cannabis products marketed to
Canadian recreational cannabis consumers.
- Added tenured Board members. The Company added valuable
Board experience with the additions of Stu
Miller as Board Chair and Deborah
Rosati as Vice Chair. Mr. Miller brings extensive legal,
strategic and public company corporate governance experience from
his previous roles as partner at McCarthy Tetrault LLP and as a
senior executive with Macquarie Group and Fairmont Hotels. Ms.
Rosati brings both cannabis and technology experience serving on
Boards on MedReleaf Corp. and NexJ Systems Inc., respectively, as
well as previous Board experience with Sears Canada Inc.
Daniel Finkelstein, the Principal
and Chief Product Officer at Gotham Green Partners, has remained a
valuable Director on the Board.
Financial Highlights
After posting $2,308,993 in
revenues in the latest fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the Company reported September 2018 TTM revenues of $3,740,484 – a 232% growth against the previous
year – and a net loss from operations of $5,743,862 as the Company invested in its future
growth.
While events drove $3,318,497 of
the September TTM revenue balance, the past 12 months have featured
accelerated growth in market data and web & content revenues,
which contributed $179,707 (+681% to
prior year) and $239,928 (+497% to
prior year), respectively. Retail training alone contributed
$148,160 in its first quarter of
earnings.
Supported by this momentum, Lift & Co. successfully listed
under the symbol "LIFT" on the TSX Venture Exchange on September 17, 2018. The debut on the Exchange was
preceded by $10,850,805 in cumulative
funds raised in 2018, including $8,850,805 closed on August 17, 2018, concurrent to the
listing.
2019 Strategic Initiatives
Over the course of the past 12 months, the Company has worked
with more than 80% of the licensed producers and has established
itself with both government and private retailers. Management
believes that none of the Company's competitors have penetrated the
market to this degree and that these connections, forged through
Lift & Co.'s unique platform strategy and proven track record,
position the Company for accelerated growth in 2019 with the
addition of recreational cannabis to its existing medical cannabis
base.
In 2019, Lift & Co. is focusing on the following growth
opportunities to expand its leadership position:
- Retail growth. Retail sales will be an immediate focus
for Lift & Co., seeking to build upon the early wins in this
nascent industry. With an early leadership position in retail
training, and strong relationships with both government and private
retailers, Lift & Co. is poised to be benefit from the
increased needs of retail staff education as more provinces begin
licensed retail sales and retail locations continue to open.
- International expansion. As at the end of 2018, there
were over 30 countries that had begun to legalize medical cannabis
federally. With a leading platform in Canada designed to address regulatory pain
points between consumers, licensed producers and licensed retailers
in such a system, the Company is looking to pursue international
opportunities to deploy its platform and broaden its reach.
- Transactional data aggregation. Lift & Co. is
actively looking to expand its collection of transactional data –
today through user-submitted purchase receipts– to further increase
the value of the Company's data analytics offering. Management
believes this would result in greater recurring revenues through
higher-value subscriptions to a wider audience.
About Lift & Co.
Lift & Co. (TSXV:LIFT) is a
cannabis-focused technology and media company that monetizes a
platform of advertising solutions, events, and data insights to
enable cannabis businesses to better understand, target and
ultimately monetize cannabis consumers. Lift & Co. operates a
leading product-comparison resource of federally regulated cannabis
products; provides customized marketing solutions and data-backed
insights into consumer and product trends; and connects businesses
and consumers through its digital platform, and at its leading
events, the Retail Tradeshows, the Lift & Co. Expos and the
Canadian Cannabis Awards. The Lift & Co. Cannabis Retail
Training Certification, developed in an exclusive partnership with
MADD Canada, is available to both government and private clients.
Learn more at lift.co.
Forward-looking statements
Neither TSX
Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term
is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results, performance or
achievements to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause
results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended.
There can be no assurance that such forward-looking
statements will prove to be accurate or that management's
expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or
results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements in this news release are made as of the date of this
release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise such information, except as required by
applicable law, and the Company does not assume any liability for
disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @liftandco
SOURCE Lift & Co. Corp.
