Below is the 2019 Year in Review message sent to our 572 existing investors. 

This is the type of communication you should expect to receive from me as an investor on Republic.  

Here in my Denver home office there is background chatter with my husband and sons working the day away in our new routine.  I have spent the past two weeks personally checking in with our partners around the world and there is optimism in the future of cannabis despite our current crisis.  I am proud to present our 2019 wrap-up below and am confident we are positioned to succeed.

Our Republic campaign continues to build significant traction and engaging with 1400+ new investors from around the world is a bright part of every workday. We are on path for a very strong finish in the next 10 days so PLEASE share among your network. Sharing our campaign truly leads to organic growth.

My best,
Jane West

SALES UPDATE

RETAIL SALES
Our VP of Sales, Kate Csillagi, started in Q2 2019. Since Kate joined us, we have quadrupled the number of wholesale accounts, establishing our brand presence on shelves in important customer facing retail outlets. New markets include OK, WA, MO, RI, TX, CO, and FL. Overall, wholesale revenue has increased by over $20k, teeing up continued progress in 2020.
While on-boarding new partners, Kate applied her extensive operations background to our fulfillment process and streamlined SOPs and monthly expenses, decreasing OPEX by 13%. She also produced our first catalog. 

ON-LINE SALES

In the fall of 2019, we were accepted into the Square CBD Beta program to successfully launch our CBD site betterwithjane.com.  We have grown our online presence through SEO and social media efforts, with an average conversion rate of 18%. Additionally, we have driven sales by offering investors a 20% discount code for all of 2020.  E-mail Jane for the code if you haven’t received it. Our entire CBD line, including the four new hemp products launched in 2019 are currently in stock.

DISPENSARY SALES
With a 74% avg product margin, our dispensary packaging line is the vertical our team will be focused on for the remainder of 2020. To date this year, we are on target to more than double the number of storefronts that carry our branded cannabis products. In 2019, our packaging vertical represented 30% of sales with over 14k units sold and revenue from our packaging partners grew by 50% ($60k to $90k) as we added Washington State, Montana, Maryland and Oregon.

INVESTORS

Since our previous equity crowdfunding round closed on Republic in April 2018, we secured additional accredited investors.  After our 2020 Republic campaign closes in 10 days, we do not plan on seeking additional capital this year.  We will cover our existing operations and growth using sales revenue and funds raised on Republic. 

FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

• Total OPEX DECREASED 13% from 2018 to 2019
• Inventory Held is $84K at the end of 2019 vs $92K at the end of 2018
• Net Operating Loss of $339k for the year (11% Better than 2018)

BRAND EQUITY

In 2019, our influencer program sent out packages by the dozen scoring high marks for our six new CBD products on valuable social media channels.  Nationwide, we supported dozens of female-focused event companies and small business via product sponsorship giveaways including Allume in Canada (shown below) and Lioness Health in the US. 

Our line is now established on the shelves of The Standard Spa in Miami (pics below) as we break into hospitality storefronts.  Retail stores specializing in CBD also love our line, including the Hempire stores along the East Coast.

We kicked off the decade on the pages of InStyle included with ten other industry leaders across fashion, beauty, media, and more.  See pic from Jane's instagram account below.

IN THE PRESS - Q1 2020

IN PRINT InStyle Magazine "Experts Agree: 2020 Is Going to Be a Great Year"
Kingscrowd Founder Profile: Jane West
Hey Hello High Feature Interview
WGN Radio Podcast Startup Showcase: Jane West
Westword "Welcome to High Style"
Sensi Mag "Cannabis Meets Fashion at High Style"
Ribbon.co "Five Women Leading the Cannabis Industry In 2020"
Lit & Lucid Podcast "High Style in Cannabis Fashion"