Shopify Inc (SHOP)

[NYOptionsGuy]

Shopify Selected as the E-Commerce Solution for Ontario Retail Cannabis

SOURCE: https://www.dailymarijuanaobserver.com/single-post/2018/02/12/Shopify---The-E-Commerce-Solution-for-Ontario-Cannabis

Today, it was announced that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, a.k.a LCBO, has chosen to structure a deal with Ottawa-based Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) (TSX:SHOP) to be the e-commerce and point-of-sale platform for cannabis sales online as well as in stores in Ontario.



The province recently announced its framework for managing the sales and use of retail cannabis in the province. Not only will people be able to purchase cannabis in-person, but through an online ordering service as well.



The plan includes 80 stand alone stores to be opened by July 1st, 2019. The hope is that by 2020, 150 will be open. The proposed minimum age will be 19 to use, purchase and possess recreational cannabis in Ontario. Brick and mortar locations aside, many have wondered how the online purchasing portion of retail cannabis sales will work for those more inclined to do their buying digitally.



As mentioned above, Shopify's platform will also be used for in-store retail purchases as well. In the brick and mortar locations, the Shopify platform will be used on iPads for the processing of transactions as well as the displaying of product and health info.



The president and CEO of the LCBO, George Soleas commented,"We look forward to combining our expertise as a socially responsible retailer with Shopify's world-class commerce solutions to deliver the safe, informed and reliable shopping experience that our new customers will expect."



This morning at the open, shares or Shopify had reacted well to the news of the arrangement announced several hour prior. Friday, Feb 9th, shares of SHOP closed at $119.55. After the news, they opened Monday morning at $123.30 USD. This is a significant change of over 3% for the $12+ Billion USD market cap e-commerce behemoth.



As shares continues to react to the news throughout the trading day, this announcement was a fantastic opportunity for those trading on the news to see nice returns this AM.



Today's announcement was just one of many to come in which we see major corporations that were otherwise disconnected from the cannabis industry get to benefit from the major shift of legalization of cannabis in Canada and beyond.



To stay up to date with important developments in the cannabis industry, be sure to subscribe to one or more of our free email newsletters. Also, connect with The Daily Marijuana Observer on Facebook, Twitter, StockTwits and Instagram!