Rob AriasOur periodic aggregate of business-related stories pertaining to Emeryville.
The tone of this collection of stories is rather dismal as, like many Bay Area cities, Emeryville is experiencing layoffs, bankruptcies and facing closures.
MedMen, who frame themselves as the “Apple” of cannabis, are reporting $137 million in debit in their latest financial disclosure. MedMen opened a dispensary on San Pablo Avenue at the Andante Complex in 2021. According to GreenMarketReport.com, they are actively working to trim costs by selling off stores, assets and reduce headcount.
Lucira Health, who were the first to gain FDA Emergency Use Authorization for their at-home Covid-19 test, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and are facing potential sale and liquidation. According to a follow up story, Lucira blamed regulatory delays and received approval just two days later. Lucira has cut more than 150 jobs over the past three months.
Spain-based Grifols announced plans to shed some 2,300 jobs throughout its organization this year. They have provided few details regarding which facilities cuts will take place. Their Emeryville industrial facility and R&D center employs 260.
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MedMen, California’s ‘Apple Store of weed,’ is on the verge of collapse
By Lester Black
MedMen was the hottest cannabis store in California when the state’s recreational pot market opened in 2018.
The retail chain called itself the “Apple Store of weed” and national media outlets, from Esquire to Vanity Fair, hailed this California pot company as the upscale future of legal pot. Before long, MedMen had opened locations in seven states and even expanded to Manhattan.
But now MedMen’s empire is on the verge of financial failure.
Read more on SFGate.com
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At-home Covid test maker falls into Chapter 11 bankruptcy
By Ron Leuty
Lucira Health Inc. pushed through the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver one of the first at-home tests for the virus and survived a worker shortage that slowed production. In the end, the Emeryville company may be taken down by the flu.
Lucira (NASDAQ: LHDX) filed Wednesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, holding out hope for a “stalking horse” bidder as it tries to conserve its remaining $4.5 million cash in advance of a potential sale and liquidation. The move comes two years after the company netted $159.9 million in an initial public offering at $17 per share.
Read more on SF Business Times (subject to paywall).
Spanish drug company with Bay Area operations to shed 2,300 jobs
By Ron Leuty
Grifols S.A., a Spanish plasma-focused company with research and manufacturing sites throughout California, plans to shed some 2,300 jobs this year throughout its organization.
The company (NASDAQ: GRFS) hasn’t said how its Bay Area operations, with sites in Emeryville, South San Francisco and San Carlos, will be affected. The company has facilities in San Diego and Los Angeles as well as Denver, Memphis and the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.
Read more on SF Business Times (subject to paywall).
MedMen sited their store all wrong. No parking and not the nicest part of San Pablo. Foot traffic is also not great. They might have done better with a better location.