There is no denying coronavirus has turned our country’s economy upside down. Sonia Hendrix, founder of boutique agency GALLERY PR - which services top fashion, beauty and cannabis brands - offers her take on these industry workers' futures.
On top of the unfathomable human toll the pandemic has taken, we’re also faced with a historical economic downturn. Retailers whose doors have been shut for more than two months are starting to go under. Bankruptcies are popping up left and right. Our peers in fashion and beauty are for the most part unemployed or furloughed with no real certainty about the timeline of when they’ll get back to work. In April alone, retail jobs fell by 2.1 million, with 740,000 Americans out of work at clothing and accessory stores. As this virus drags on and our future way of life hangs in the balance, I have to ask myself: when will these creative, talented workers get their jobs back? Will they get their jobs back? If not, where will they find work?
As a fashion and cannabis industry insider with more than two years of cannabis PR experience, working with the industry’s most forward-thinking and formidable companies, l am compelled to argue that we’re at the beginning of a steady increase of talent exiting retail to work in other industries, chief among them being cannabis. This is especially true for the wellness and beauty cannabis categories. Now, I’m not implying the cannabis industry has an immediate need for millions of workers today. At the end of 2019, there was a disturbing trend of cannabis companies announcing layoffs. However, that was a sign of an ever-emerging modern industry course-correcting. Jobs are beginning to stabilize and while MSO’s slashed jobs, small businesses are staffing up.
Photo Credit: Marijuana Business Daily
For the sake of seniority and experience, it behooves talent to make the jump now.
Let’s dial in on the numbers so we can crystalize what’s hyperbole and what’s not. Leafly, a respected cannabis trade outlet, released its annual Cannabis Jobs Report this year, which found 243,700 full-time jobs are now supported by legal cannabis. This is a 15% YOY increase from 2019. There’s speculation among insiders that those figures will accelerate, especially as more states come online and demand builds for cannabis products across wellness and beauty. From where I sit, it feels like a new THC or CBD brand launches every day. But in a recent forecast by research firm Technavio, analysts found the CBD skincare market has potential to grow from 2020-2024 by $1.64 billion. Technavio’s post COVID-19 analysis didn’t reduce that figure. Instead it cited, “additional demand as a result of the pandemic by type, source, and geography.”
In some cases, and varying state-to-state, the salaries in cannabis are quite lucrative. Fortune reported budtender counter jobs range from $12.50 - $18 per hour. General managers can earn between $35,000 and $90,600. Directors and V.P.’s can earn between $76,700 and $152,000. The salaries reported go on to count for work in cultivation, extraction, and as a founder.
What does the data say? Politico recently published a news story with the headline: “Coronavirus hasn’t kept some cannabis companies down: They’re staffing up even as unemployment in many other sectors soars.” Marijuana Business Daily reported an increase of medical cannabis cardholders in Ohio by 227%. Ohio is a nascent cannabis market and a political swing state to boot, so I find it interesting that sales are up 12% with more signs of growth as the program expands.
BDS Analytics, which produces cannabis industry market and consumer behaviour research, reported consumer spending on legal cannabis worldwide grew by an estimated 45.7% to $14.9 billion in 2019, pre-COVID, and pre-Essential Service status. Now, connect the dots between cannabis and tax revenue. Coronavirus is creating significant debt for every state. Imagine how this debt-load will impact your legislator’s motivation to generate tax revenue by legalizing, at a minimum, medical cannabis programs.
This evolution is compelling enough to warrant coverage from media authorities familiar with the matter. Politico penned a recent story called, “cannabis finds its moment amid the coronavirus outbreak.” USA Today asked, “will weed go mainstream in a post-COVID world?” Marijuana Moment, the industry’s most reliable and up-to-date source for developments in marijuana policy, reported polling data that showed 53 percent of Americans want cannabis dispensaries to remain open.
Where there’s growth, there’s opportunity. Where there’s disruption, there’s opportunity. I urge potential job seekers to be strategic and mindful as they explore new opportunities in cannabis, but know they’re there and the trend of former retail talent jumping to cannabis will become more obvious over time. Those who are smart will get in now to ensure their future success in a field that needs tasteful, visionary talent.
