Barneys New York to launch 'The High End' cannabis concept

Dive Brief:

Barneys New York on Monday announced that next month it will launch "The High End," a luxury cannabis lifestyle shop, in its Beverly Hills flagship. The space has a lounge area, with wellness and beauty products, jewelry and paraphernalia like glass pipes, vape pens and rolling papers for sale in store and online, according to a company press release emailed to Retail Dive.
The effort involves a partnership with upscale Los Angeles cannabis company Beboe to sell many of its products, including vaporizer pens and pastilles, and CBD (cannabidiol) products. With Beboe co-founder Scott Campbell, the retailer developed a special-edition silver Beboe vaporizer pen exclusive to the project. Beboe has also partnered with premium cannabis lifestyle brand Sherbinskis to develop a new strain of cannabis, according to the department store.
The High End's debut reflects what Barneys New York CEO Daniella Vitale sees as a cultural shift in America. "Many of our customers have made cannabis a part of their lifestyle, and The High End caters to their needs with extraordinary products and service they experience in every facet of Barneys New York," she said in a statement. The concept will expand to additional locations "in the near future," the company said.

Dive Insight:

Marijuana has been legal in California for both medicinal and recreational use for a little over a year, which means that it's now also well regulated. There are limits to where and how weed products can be sold and used, including how much of the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can be in edibles, and retail outlets must be licensed with the state.

Barney's The High End has apparently snagged its license, considering that it's going to be selling more than non-psychoactive CBD products. A company spokesperson didn't immediately respond to Retail Dive's questions regarding how the department store is grappling with the remaining federal laws that have yet to bless such sales, and that have complicated routine aspects of a retail business, including banking and the supply chain.

Such obstacles may be holding the market back somewhat, but Barney's effort joins others, including several startups, that aren't waiting for U.S. federal law to catch up to states like California and Colorado that have legalized retail sales. Some are based in Canada, where marijuana is legal on the federal level, but many of those also have the U.S. market in their sights, according to a recent report from Investorideas.com, an investor news resource covering hemp and cannabis stocks, emailed to Retail Dive.

Barneys is taking advantage of what has emerged as a robust luxury market in the space, and will sell pricey merchandise beyond what's available through its tie-up with Beboe. The High End will offer a number of vintage smoking items, as well as Devambez rolling papers, Lorenzi Milano horn lighters, Giobagnara leather ashtrays and lighters, Laboratorio Pesaro ashtrays, Shine's gold rolling papers, storage boxes from Ginger Brown and custom-made blown glass pipes from Caleb Siemon. Jewelry and accessory items include sterling silver pastille dispensers and grinder necklaces from Good Art HLYWD, Martine Ali, Brent Neale, Hoorsenbuhs, Carole Shashona, Sorellina, R.O.E., M. Cohen, Miansai and Barton Perriera, according to the release.