Tokyo Smoke closing 29 locations in Canada as it seeks creditor protection

Tokyo Smoke is closing 29 locations as part of a major restructuring as the major cannabis retailer seeks creditor protection.

Twenty-nine of the brand's stores are set to close under this restructuring plan, which Tokyo Smoke states is, in part, a response to changing demand in the cannabis market — which reached bubble-like oversaturation in recent years — as well as declining prices for the intoxicating commodity.

Tokyo Smoke was founded in Toronto in 2015, and was later purchased by Canopy Growth before its 2022 acquisition by current owner OEG Retail Cannabis.

OEG, which formerly stood for Oilers Entertainment Group, is notably headed by Daryl Katz, owner of the Edmonton Oilers.

Under OEG's ownership, Tokyo Smoke's brand presence has since swelled to 167 locations across Canada, but it appears that the boom days of the cannabis biz may be in the past as one of the biggest players in the industry takes a step back.

The Canadian Press reports that Tokyo Smoke attributes the move to changes in the cannabis market and regulatory conditions, saying these factors have changed "significantly."

Industry experts warned of exactly such a meltdown in the cannabis market in 2021, one that seems to be coming to fruition a few years later.