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Amoeba Record Shop Opens Dispensary To Increase Sales

Amoeba Record Shop Opens Dispensary To Increase Sales

Business

Amoeba Record Shop Opens Dispensary To Increase Sales

HiFidelity/Yelp

Amoeba Record Shop Opens Dispensary To Increase Sales

After years of planning, Amoeba Music has made their move into the legal marijuana market with the opening of the Hi-Fidelity cannabis shop.

Professionals in a surprisingly wide number of industries see legal cannabis as a possible way to boost economic activity and business growth. Now, as the legendary Amoeba record shop opens a dispensary in Berkeley, California, it looks like some members of the music industry are also starting to turn to the marijuana market as a way to increase sales.

Amoeba Music Opens Hi-Fidelity

Amoeba Music recently made its move into legal marijuana. Last month, the well-known music shop had a soft open for its latest venture: a recreational dispensary called Hi-Fidelity.

The new cannabis store is located next door to the famous Berkeley music shop. According to co-founders Marc Weinstein and Dave Prinz, as well as Hi-Fidelity’s curator Chris Garcia, the weed shop will focus on carrying a massive lineup of cannabis and cannabis products.

Similarly, they want the store to have a laid-back vibe. In particular, customers will be encouraged to take their time hanging out in the dispensary and checking out products.

“That’s one of the things that’s been missing since Prop 64 has been implemented,” Garcia told reporters at Billboard. “I go into these dispensaries and it’s get in line, check your phone for the menu, know what you want when you get up there and get out.”

He went on to explain the vision behind Hi-Fidelity. He said Weinstein and Prinz opened the shop as a way to not only give people access to weed but as a way to celebrate the broader culture of cannabis.

In that way, it makes perfect sense for a record shop to open a weed shop. As Garcia puts it: “Music has always been a part of cannabis and cannabis has always been a part of music.”

A Long Time Coming

It wasn’t easy for Weinstein and Prinz to open Hi-Fidelity. And it wasn’t a quick process either. In fact, it took them six full years to finally get everything in order.

They first had the idea to open a dispensary back in 2012. At the time, since only medical was legal in California, their first idea was to open a medicinal dispensary.

Right from the start, they faced a slow process. They started working through the long process of getting licensed to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Then, things began shifting as recreational popped up on the legal horizon.

Voters in California ended up approving legalization in 2016. That overhauled the entire legal weed scene in the state.

Meanwhile, Weinstein and Prinz continued dealing with obstacles in everything from building construction to getting an online menu up and running to working out licensing and regulatory details.

Finally, all their hard work paid off. Last month, Hi-Fidelity had its soft open. Moving forward, Weinstein predicts somewhere around $10 million in yearly cannabis sales.

Amoeba Record Shop Opens Dispensary To Help With Dropping Sales

While the folks at Hi-Fidelity are idealistic about the cultural aspects of running a recreational dispensary, that’s not the whole story. There are also very material business concerns at stake.

In particular, the co-founders have been searching for a way to boost sales as the music industry continues shifting toward a digital streaming model. That shift has hit record stores particularly hard.

According to Billboard, CD sales have dropped 92 percent since 2000. There has been an uptick in vinyl sales, however. But all in all, it’s been a rough few years for stores trying to sell CDs and records.

But the legal cannabis industry is booming. Getting in on the action could be a big way for Amoeba Music to boost its overall sales.

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