Pure Geens, Chaffee County’s resident wholesale marijuana grow operation located in Smeltertown, has been merged with Denver-based GCH, the marijuana branding company which is the licensee for the Willy’s Reserve cannabis brand.
The merger was completed mid-last week and Pure Greens CEO Sterling Stoudenmire submitted his resignation at that time. He plans to depart for his home state of Alabama by the end of next week. He won’t stay home long; he has already had several requests for his consultant expertise, as several states are considering legalizing marijuana.
“I’m a startup guy,” he explained when he talked with Ark Valley Voice earlier this week, explaining his decision to depart the company he built from the ground up. He added his insight on why Pure Greens was an attractive merger target. “Our revenue was up 85 percent year over year this past year. GCH chose to focus on marketing and they have never made a profit. Our revenue vastly exceeds theirs, and our profit is higher.”
The move appears to allow the private equity investment partners that have funded both business operations to blend the successful revenue of the Pure Greens operation with the GCH group, based in Denver, which according to reports has not yet reached profitability.
“Our investors have an investment there. They basically were looking at this because they had a huge product cost [for GCH], and these guys were relying on product in the spot market to fill their requirements,” said Stoudenmire. “We’ve built a successful and profitable wholesale grow operation and a branded product.”
GCH has yet to comment on the merger after repeated requests by Ark Valley Voice for a comment. But its website offers the following: “We are assembling a portfolio of brands for licensed product distribution in multiple states. In an increasingly national cannabis landscape, we aim to offer brands that support best-in-class retail experiences and thriving wholesale businesses.”
Stoudenmire said that GCH CEO Andrew Davidson will become the CEO of the merged group, and GCH SVP of Marketing Elizabeth Hogan will continue in that role over the merged entity. Stoudenmire’s right hand, Georgeann Craig, will continue as the head of Operations at the Pure Greens facility.
Both groups began in 2014, when Colorado legalized cannabis including; marijuana grow operations, medical and retail marijuana outlets. Without revealing exact numbers, Stoudenmire said “We both started about the same time. At Pure Greens, we focused on building our profitable grow operation. We’ve invested in the community, and in our state-of-the-art infrastructure. We built an entire vertical business, and have been expanding our retail operations, adding Natures Medicine cannabis dispensaries.”
The business news raises legitimate economic questions for Chaffee County, which has counted Pure Greens as a valuable economic force.
Not only has Pure Greens provided 75 fully-benefited, high-wage jobs, but it has also become a valuable member of the community and the county’s Economic Development Corporation. Just this past August, it reported $150,000 in community grants from the excise tax contributions overseen by Chaffee County Marijuana Excise Tax Advisory Board ( METAB)
It remains to be seen what the impact of non-local leadership means for Pure Greens involvement in the community.
Looking ahead to Saturday: a candid interview with Sterling Stoudenmire on the creation and growth of Pure Greens.
Featured image: Pure Greens completely climate-controlled cultivation operation in Smeltertown. Photo by Jan Wondra.
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April 16, 2021 at 09:31PM
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Pure Greens Merged with GCH, Stoudenmire Departs - by Jan Wondra - The Ark Valley Voice
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