MedMen Opens New Store In Boston's Fenway Park On Heels Of Litigation Hurdles & Management Shakeups

Cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMEN MMNFF is opening a new store in Boston's Fenway Park - its first in Massacusssets.

Located on 120 Brookline Avenue, the 4,725 square-foot shop will kick off cannabis sales on Wednesday, Dec. 22.

"As we continue to execute against our aggressive growth plans as MedMen 2.0, we are excited to announce the opening of our newest location in the very heart and soul of Boston," Michael Serruya, the comapny's interim CEO, said. "We look forward to becoming a contributing member of the vibrant Fenway Park community and to serving the Greater Boston area with best-in-class cannabis products and exceptional customer service."

MedMen Fenway will offer a wide range of cannabis products, including concentrates, pre-rolls, topicals, flower and vaporizers, not only from MedMen Red but from other companies like Cresco Labs CRLBF, as well.

Ryan Dominquez, executive director of MASS CultivatED - a nation jail-to-jobs program for the cannabis industry - called MedMen, one of its founding members, "a trusted partner."

"We look forward to becoming a contributing member of the vibrant Fenway Park community and to serving the Greater Boston area with best-in-class cannabis products and exceptional customer service," he added.

Litigation Hurdles

In the meantime, MedMen's debut in the Bay State came on the heels of management shakeups and litigation hurdles it has been experiencing lately.

Last month, the company announced that it has prevailed in a high-profile lawsuit brought by its former CFO, James Parker, who alleged wrongful termination, breach of contract and retaliation - for which he was seeking more than $20 million in damages.

The trial held at the Los Angeles County Superior Court had been ongoing for over two and a half years.

Parker claimed that the company's co-founders, Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin, who served as MedMen's CEO and president, respectively, prior to being ousted from the publicly traded cannabis company in early 2020, forced him to resign.

The jury ruled in favor of MedMen on all claims, determining that MedMen does not owe Parker any damages.

However, the turbulent year has taken its toll, considering that the stock has dropped from the $1.29 per share value it reached in February to being less than $0.20. Nevertheless, the stock is still up about 16% year-to-date.

Business Turnaround

The company kicked off the fiscal year with its fifth consecutive quarter of positive retail adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations, which was 17.3% compared to 15.1% in the same period of 2020.

And, it seems that MedMen continues to make progress in turning around the business, being in a strong position following the $100 million investment from Serruya Private Equity in August. Simultaneously, Canadian cannabis giant Tilray inc TLRY acquired most of MedMen's outstanding senior secured convertible notes initially held by certain funds affiliated with Gotham Green Partners LLC and others.

Having plans to bolster its footprint by nearly 40% in the year ahead, the company is poised to witness a same-store sales growth with "buds, a proprietary loyalty program, and a revamped CRM" as primary drivers, Cantor Fitzgerald's analyst Pablo Zuanic recently said.