EXCLUSIVE: Curaleaf's Boris Jordan Says Cannabis Company Has Made 'Massive' Leap, Expects European Business To 'Double' Next Year Despite Market Risks

Curaleaf Holdings Inc‘s CURLF Boris Jordan recently took over as chief executive of the company as he sees a lot of moving parts in the cannabis space that he believes he can help address.

“The industry is going through a very difficult period, and there is a lot of major, both catalysts and potential roadblocks in the way,” Jordan said Tuesday at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago.

“I always say, and my father used to say, ‘If you’re not happy with the way things are going, do it yourself.'”

Steering The Ship: Jordan, who is also the co-founder and chairman of Curaleaf, took over as CEO in August to further the vision he has for what Curaleaf can ultimately become. He said at the time that he would focus on streamlining the organization and accelerating growth initiatives to drive margin expansion. 

At the Benzinga Cannabis Conference on Tuesday, Jordan said Curaleaf has made “massive” amounts of progress in recent weeks as the company has focused on cutting costs and bringing new people on board. The Curaleaf CEO noted that the company is changing “the whole dynamic” of how it operates.

In the fourth quarter, Curaleaf plans to introduce a new three-year strategy for the company moving forward so teams can hit the ground running into 2025, Jordan said, adding that there are a lot of changing dynamics in the cannabis industry right now.

See Also: Marijuana Operator TerrAscend To Report Quarterly Earnings Soon, Hear From Its Top Exec At Benzinga Cannabis Conference

One of the biggest standouts for Jordan is the proliferation of hemp products in the market. He told the crowd at the conference that he believes the hemp boom has hurt growth in other areas of the cannabis market and has ignited price compression in the regulated market.

“On top of that, I believe the Fed saw something that a lot of other people don’t see,” Jordan said, referencing the 50 basis point cut to interest rates the Federal Reserve delivered last month.

The Curaleaf CEO suggested that the consumer is in worse shape than most think. He believes the U.S. consumer — if not the whole U.S. economy — is in a recession. He argued that Nike Inc NKE pulling its guidance is a great example of consumer products companies coming under pressure.

“So you have the consumer recession, you have a higher inflationary environment, you have the proliferation of the hemp market, you’ve got a lot of pressure on the regulated market, you have no real capital market available today, and I think that’s raised a lot of pressure onto the overall cannabis industry and I think to navigate that, you have to be someone that’s been through a lot,” Jordan said.

Why Curaleaf: Curaleaf gives investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of assets and geography, Jordan said. Along with its strong markets in Florida and Arizona, Curaleaf is seeing early success in its European expansion. The company is expected to generate sales of over $100 million in Europe this year on close to 50% margins.

“We think that we are going to double that next year,” Jordan said.

In the U.S., there is optimism around cannabis reform surrounding the election, but it’s likely going to take some time regardless of the outcome of the election. Jordan noted that there will be winners and losers based on the outcome, and part of why he stepped in as CEO is to make sure Curaleaf will be a winner on the other side.

“I’m still very, very optimistic. I think this sector has a tremendous amount of upside, but I do think that there are risks. And the key to managing through this current environment is understanding the dynamics of what’s going on in the market… and making sure that you diversify,” Jordan said.

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Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan speaks at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Tuesday. Photo by Wendy Davis.