Yo, peep this: MedMen Enterprises Inc. just straight-up declared bankruptcy, my dudes. They ain’t got no cash flow and can’t pay off their debts, according to the former CFO Amit Pandey. This Friday, they finally admitted defeat after a hot mess of retail closures, layoffs, legal battles, and drama with their top execs. It’s been a wild ride for the company once hailed as the ‘Apple store of weed.’
In a statement released on Friday, MedMen spilled the tea about their dire financial situation. They straight-up said they couldn’t meet their financial obligations and were about to get clapped by their creditors. So, they made the tough call to shut down operations and file for bankruptcy and receivership. It’s a wrap for them.
Back in the day, MedMen was sitting pretty with a valuation of $1.7 billion when they went public. But then they hit a rough patch with only $15.6 million in cash and a massive $137.4 million debt load. Things took a nosedive from there with stores closing left and right, partnerships falling through, execs jumping ship, and lawsuits flying left and right.
So what went wrong? Basically, MedMen got too big for their britches after California legalized weed in 2018. They expanded like crazy but ran into all sorts of issues like hefty taxes, regulatory headaches, and stiff competition from other players in the game. Their merger plans went belly up after a DOJ antitrust probe, and things just kept going downhill from there.
Despite starting off strong with fancy stores in swanky locations like Venice Beach and Fifth Avenue, MedMen couldn’t keep up with the rapidly changing cannabis landscape. Their stock tanked by 92% in 2019 as they struggled to stay afloat against dodgy vape scandals and cheap street dealers undercutting their prices.
By 2020, they were on life support with only two stores left out of 25 nationwide. Their co-founder got booted over lawsuits alleging racism and shady financial dealings. And now here we are, with MedMen filing for bankruptcy and holding onto assets worth just a buck while drowning in $410 million in liabilities.
It’s a cautionary tale of how fast things can fall apart in the cannabis world. Once you slip up, it’s game over. So remember, kids, don’t bite off more than you can chew or you might end up like MedMen – broke, busted, and bankrupt.
