MedMen VP Daniel Yi On How Recreational Marijuana in California Has Affected Business
Recreational marijuana has been legal in California since January 1 and since then cannabis stores like MedMen in West Hollywood have been a significant bump in sales and foot traffic. Alyssa Julya Smith visited the MedMen location in West Hollywood one month after the store first started selling recreational marijuana.
Yi explains that month-to-month MedMen has been triple the amount of foot traffic and revenue in January as they had from December. He explains that more people than ever before are buying edibles and trying different forms of cannabis.
Los Angeles was slow to start granting recreational marijuana licenses but has continued to issue them. As of the end of January, the city had approved more than 20 stores and is still awaiting approval from the state. According to some analysts, the cannabis industry in California is expected to be worth $5.1 billion in 2018.
The Chinese government brought the sitcom "Friends" back to its streaming services. However, it had instances of LGBTQ+ references left out, after the series had been banned on Chinese streaming platforms for years.
Season 13 "Shark Tank" contestant Tania Speaks secured a $400,000 deal for her Speaks Organic Skincare brand with "Shark" Mark Cuban while also being named one of the best pitches in the history of the show — all at 19 years old. Now 20, Speaks joined Cheddar News to talk about the skincare line, the clean beauty industry, and the moment that host Cuban was moved by her pitch. "I couldn't believe that he got emotional. I'm surprised I held back my tears that long," the young entrepreneur revealed. "It's just amazing for someone else to be inspired by your story, especially Mark Cuban himself."
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In efforts to help support black-owned brands. Ulta Beauty says it will make a commitment to not only give these brand shelf space but also help them navigate the ins and outs of growing a business. Last week, the beauty retailer announced in order to reach those goals, the company will spend $50 million on diversity and inclusion programs, including an accelerated program to mentor entrepreneurs of color. CEO of Ulta Beauty, Dave Kimbell, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
