Video: Fire & Flower's CFO Nadia Vattovaz Discusses Recent Deals, Calls Q4 'Strongest Quarter Yet'

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX:FAF) (OTCQX:FFLWF), a tech-oriented cannabis retailer, saw a 150% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching CA$128.1 million ($103.2 million) in 2021 at a gross profit of 35.5%.

Its fourth-quarter revenue amounted to CA$43.2 million at a gross profit of 38%.

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"This is our strongest quarter yet," Nadia Vattovaz, former CFO and newly appointed COO at Fire & Flower, said Tuesday on Benzinga's Cannabis Insider show hosted by Javier Hasse.

The expansion of the company’s retail footprint to 80 currently operating stores resulted in adjusted EBITDA coming in positive at CA$1.5 million, versus a CA$5.26 million loss in the same quarter of 2019.

The company relies on information it gleans from its many customers.

Understanding how, when, and what they shop for is vital when pursuing business growth and success, Vattovaz explained.

"We have very highly targeted merchandising efforts in every location that we're at," she said.

Fire & Flower’s Hifyre Digital Retail and Analytics Platform delivered 110.4% sequential growth, generating CA$6.3 million in revenue for the full year.

"We've become really good at deploying our Hifyre Digital Retail and Analytics Platform," Vattovaz said, calling it their "secret sauce."

"It's really important in this industry to understand the customer and to have a direct relationship with the customer," she added.

This strategy resulted in a slight sequential surge in gross profits, from 36.6% to 38% in the last three months of fiscal 2020.

"We've been able to understand which products our consumers would like to buy and really target those buys in the particular area," Vattovaz told Cannabis Insider.

The company ended the year with roughly CA$30.6 million in cash, as compared to CA$22.9 million in 2019.

Vattovaz said that they plan to use this cash to pursue growth opportunities, "whether it's organic growth or growth via acquisition or strategic partnerships."

American Acres Deal As Foray Into US Market, Couche-Tard As Bright Future

In February, the company teamed up with American Acres Managers to expand across California, Arizona, and Nevada, just days after its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

"As a TSX listed company, there are limitations to how we can directly participate in the market," Vattovaz said, calling the company's tech platform its "entry point into the U.S. and markets beyond the U.S."

Last year, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s wholly-owned subsidiary, 2707031 Ontario Inc., acquired roughly 4.73% of the issued and outstanding shares of Fire & Flower.

As a global retailer with more than 16,000 locations worldwide, Alimentation Couche-Tard understands that the relationship with the customer is key.

"One of the things that they have found really compelling about Fire & Flower is our tech capability," Vattovaz noted.

They understand that the "technology platform will enable our growth in a substantive way across all markets," she added.

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