Rumors, more or less confirmed, have been going around on news outlets pointing at the growing pains within MedMen. In the previous months, the company has laid off part of its staff, and proved to be unable to pay their vendors. Additionally, a rumor had it that the company was starting to file for bankruptcy, yet none of this information is officially confirmed.
Last Friday, in an unexpected move, MedMen CEO Adam Bierman held a AMA on Reddit. The acronym stands for Ask me Anything, and it is a format through which the public can directly ask questions to the person directly involved in the matter at hand. The thread on Reddit was stormed with questions, and Adam replied to some of them, yet not to all, and some commenters manifested frustration as he did not directly address or provide meaningful insight regarding some questions. At the same time, he answered some tough questions.
For instance, one Reddit user directly asked Adam to provide some answers with regards to the vendors not being paid and the bankruptcy rumors, to which Adam replied: "Through this restructuring we are fastidiously managing our cash position and we are working with our vendor partners on our existing AP and how most efficiently to pay those obligations. This is to be expected for a retailer in a restructuring but that doesn’t make it any easier. Many of these vendors are personal friends. Many of these vendors, specifically in CA, rely heavily upon MedMen for their businesses. We are being as communicative and partner like as possible given the reality. "
Another Reddit user asked Adam Bierman how much he and his partners plan on paying themselves in the years to come, in light of the discussions that arose when the salary of many cannabis CEOs were disclosed. "It doesn't sit well with investors seeing you and your partner buying 11 million dollar Beverly Hill homes next to Leo DiCaprio while the rest of us are taking huge losses," the Reddit user said.
To this question, Adam replied: "I empathize and completely understand where your frustration is coming from. While 2018 was this incredible year for the stock, 2019 was a disaster. While the stock underperformed, we opened 17 new stores including 4 in CA and 2 in Illinois (which in January flipped to rec). As of now I take a 50k salary and while I can’t give you advice on whether you should buy, hold or sell MedMen stock I can, however, tell you what I have done personally. I have personally never sold a single share of MedMen stock. I have bought the stock. And this has been publicly disclosed. I bought 1,550,387 shares this month for about $660,000. I also bought 342,660 shares in the public markets in December 2018 for a million dollars. I am all in on this company and its future. And coming out the other end of this restructuring our future has never been brighter."
However, many questions still remain unanswered.