High Tide will open its 80th Canna Cabana recreational cannabis store in Alberta on Friday.

The store will be located in Calgary’s Glendale area, at 5308 17th Ave. S.W., in a fully built existing store, the company announced. High Tide said it took over the former store’s lease from the previous occupant.

Raj Grover, High Tidge’s founder and CEO, said the retailer plans to expand by assuming more leases elsewhere.

“As our investors know, market consolidation is underway, and many cannabis retailers are choosing not to renew their existing leases, given the challenging macro environment,” he said. “Opening new Canna Cabana locations in pre-existing cannabis stores at quality sites is an excellent opportunity for us to grow our retail footprint, saving our shareholders hundreds of thousands of dollars in build-out costs.”

High Tide aims to capitalize on the new Calgary store’s close proximity to two major thoroughfares and relatively short driving distance from West Hills Towne Centre, one of the city’s major retail locations.

The store will be Calgary-based High Tide’s 173rd location in Canada overall. In recent months, the chain has been expanding aggressively in the Greater Toronto Area.

“As I discussed in our earnings call last week, our real estate team has been working hard to meet our goal of adding 20 to 30 new stores in 2024, and we are well on our way,” said Grover. “These pre-built stores are a win-win for us and the landlords as they continue to generate rental income from our nationally recognized Canna Cabana brand, given our strong financial covenant.

“In this way, we are able to get into these fully built, quality sites at a fraction of the cost. We have similar announcements lined up in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for more,”

High Tide is Canada’s largest non-franchised cannabis retailer, operating stores in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The company is also looking at possible moves into the U.S. and Europe as part of a global growth effort.

When it comes to Europe, Grover has voiced plans to expand into Germany.

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