Choom Holdings Inc. ("Holdings"), Choom BC Retail Holdings Inc., Phivida Holdings Inc., 2151414 Alberta Ltd. and 2688412 Ontario Inc. (collectively, "Choom"), a group of Vancouver, British Columbia-based cannabis companies, obtained protection under the CCAA on April 22. Holdings is the overall corporate parent of the group. It is a public entity listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol “CHOO”. As of the CCAA filing date, Choom operated 17 retail locations in Canada - two in British Columbia, twelve in Alberta and three in Ontario. Cannabis retail operations in Canada have endured a challenging business climate as a result of the industry being in its infancy and there being an oversaturation of cannabis retail operations in certain markets, particularly Alberta. Additionally, Choom has been negatively affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retail store closures, physical distancing requirements and lower retail “foot traffic” resulted in lower sales than otherwise anticipated. EY was appointed monitor. Counsel is Dentons for Choom; DLA Piper for the monitor; McCarthy Tétrault for Aurora Cannabis; Fric, Lowenstein & Co. for a creditor; and Clark Wilson for the board of directors of Choom.
