How Much Does it Cost to Open a Cannabis Store?

The answer on the question ‘How Much Does it Cost to Open a Cannabis Store?’ depends on many factors, including location, premises size, your goals and objectives. Profit margins in the retail side of the cannabis industry are more modest than for other types of cannabis business due in part to the fact that average startup costs for cannabis stores and dispensaries are higher than other sectors of the cannabis business. Median operational costs for retailers are also the highest in the industry, at around €600,000 annually.

€1 million Scenario

€35,000 legal fees & insurances
€150,000 building renting (includes security deposit)
€50,000 inventory, packaging supplies
€2,500 website design and development, hosting
€70,000 marketing campaign
€90,000 space improvements including finishing/painting, kitchen, office space, bathrooms, etc.
€40,500 security system including multiple camera feeds and metal/weapons detectors
€35,000 furniture, display counters, refrigerators, freezers, multiple POS/cash registers, registration computer, commercial label printer, storage hardware and shelving, etc.
€7,000 computer software
plus salaries for director, managers and guards
plus deals with growers and manufactures

= approximately €550,000-€900,000 start-up expenses

Some estimations for cannabis cultivation you can find from our article about cannabis growing business.

Average sales per square meter for a cannabis shop is about €15,000. More established operations boast 20-40% profit margins, while newer shops may only see 10% due to their lack of strategic partnerships and vendor relations.

Sample of a revenue model for a cannabis retail shop:
Revenue = €5,250,000 (100%)
-Direct Costs = €3,029,316(58%)
Gross Profit = €2,220,684 (42%)
– Operating Expenses = €627,030 (12%)
Operating Income = €1,593,653 (30%)

Cannabis retail business conditions differ from country to country and if you have planned to set up your own retail business, then you must comply with the laws of your particular location. Licensing requirements will also depend on the type of business you wish to start.

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'70% ready to go' business plan templates

Our cannabis retail financial models and cannabis retail business plan templates will help you estimate how much does it cost to open your own cannabis store, to build all revenue and cost line-items monthly over a flexible seven year period, and then sums the monthly results into quarters and years for an easy view into the various time periods.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.