// Sativa announces ambitions to open 100 stores selling medicinal cannabis within two years
// Sativa is a medicinal cannabis and cannabidiol company
// The firm has already opened 2 Goodbody Wellness stores since June, with a 3rd opening imminently
A medicinal cannabis and cannabidiol company has revealed ambitions plans to open 100 such stores in the UK within two years, making it the first nationwide chain of its kind.
The stock market-listed company behind Goodbody Wellness, Sativa, said it was looking to capitalise on the growing demand for cannabidiol (CBD) products – a market that is estimated to be worth nearly £1 billion by 2025.
Sativa founder Geremy Thomas opened the first Goodbody Wellness store under the brand in Bath at the end of June.
He has since opened another in Cirencester and a third is due to open imminently in Bristol.
According to PA, the launch of Sativa’s fledgling chain could create around 400 retail jobs in the first two years, with all employees receiving training on CBD and products.
Sativa hired former Phones 4U executive Chris Jones as managing director to lead the Goodbody Wellness push.
Thomas said the first three stores marked the start of a “major high street journey” for the retailer as CBD products take the UK by storm.
“I feel very confident that you will see this as a feature of the high street,” he told PA.
Thomas also shrugged off the challenges being felt elsewhere in the retail industry and said Goodbody Wellness would soon become a “national brand”.
According to PA, each store will have a barista on site offering CBD-infused coffee and tea, while stocking CBD products ranging from bath bombs and vape oils to skincare and balms.
Sativa listed on London’s NEX Exchange in March 2018 as the UK’s first medicinal cannabis investment vehicle.
CBD is believed to boost the body’s so-called endocannabinoid system, which works to restore balance.
Although it is derived from cannabis, it does not contain any of the psychoactive constituent, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
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