$380,000,000 Investment Could See Significant Growth for Hamilton-based Hifyre

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian multinational retailer and one of the largest operators of convenience stores and gas bars in North America, announced plans to invest more than $380,000,000 into cannabis retailer Fire & Flower, which will use the funds to develop its Hifyre digital retail platform and expand its network of cannabis retail stores.

The deal will take place in a series of transactions over the next few years. Couche-Tard will initially invest $25.9 million to take a 9.9% share of Fire & Flower, and eventually have the option to take a 50.1% controlling stake in the company.

It’s exciting news for Hamilton-based Hifyre, a development agency that was acquired by Fire & Flower in 2018, as the investment could mean huge growth for the company – and potentially the Hamilton tech community at large.

“Hamilton doesn’t have that central player yet that allows those around them to grow,” said Hifyre President Matthew Hollingshead. “The cannabis industry is growing around the world and we expect to be a major part of that.”

Hollingshead has strong roots in Hamilton. He co-founded design agency Factor[e] – now Parallel Digital Design – in 1999, and grew it to $1 million in sales within two years before taking a job in Toronto. Then, 10 years after starting his first agency, Hollingshead would move back to Hamilton to start Hifyre.

“I grew up here. I was born here, I went to school here,” he said. “I came back here because I saw opportunity.”

Hollingshead said a lot changed during his time working in Toronto.

“It was a challenge to run Factor[e],” he said. “But it’s a completely different market now. The talent is here, young people want to be here. We’re starting to see reverse-commutes.”

While it’s too early to describe what impact the investment may have on Hifyre, the future certainly looks bright.

“There’s a really nice progression here that I don’t think you see that often in Hamilton,” said Hollingshead.

“I expect Hifyre to continue to grow in Hamilton.”