UK’s Harvey Nichols to expand MGC Pharmaceuticals CBD Derma range
Harvey Nichols has extended sales of the MGC Derma and Derma Plus collections to an additional two UK stores; Birmingham and Edinburgh.
MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX: MXC) has received strong commercial news this morning with the news that UK-based retailer Harvey Nichols has decided to expand the sale of MGC’s premium cannabidiol (CBD) ‘Derma and Derma Plus’ collections to two further stores within the UK.
Harvey Nichols has confirmed that it intends to stock MGC’s products at two more stores in Birmingham and Edinburgh following “strong and increasing demand” on the back of the “overwhelming success” of the launch at the Knightsbridge store in London, earlier this year.
The additional two stores are expected to generate increased revenue as sales continue to be driven by a successful PR and marketing campaign that has cemented the MGC Derma footprint within the UK.
The company’s UK operations are being supplemented by a global presence with its flagship growing facility in Malta expected to formulate the central hub of its production output in the coming years.
As part of its aim of widening awareness of CBD-based treatments and to promote its own branded product range, MGC has turned to the UK’s national press in order to boost its market presence.
The company said that its ongoing campaign targeting press and influencers has secured brand exposure for MGC Derma in a range of prestigious print and online publications including The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Evening Standard, with a total circulation of around 40 million people.
Not forgetting its online presence, MGC is also promoting product sales via popular online consumer product hub BritishBeautyBlogger.com with a readership of around 30,000. Its national coverage and boosted online marketing “is directly linked to increasing brand awareness and sales,” according to MGC.
Softening medical cannabis in the UK
The UK is currently undergoing a renaissance in terms of medical cannabis regulation. Much like Canada, Australia, the US and Germany – the UK is actively moving towards a position of legalising medical cannabis with perceivably softer products such as topical creams, oils and salves already coming to the fore as the first commercial products containing active CBD ingredients.
Following recent changes to UK legislation legalising the use of medicinal cannabis, MGC wants to court the UK market in addition to its work elsewhere around the world. Its Maltese growing and cultivation operation was recently approved and certified for production with a European GMP licence.
The Maltese Government gave the company the go-ahead to construct and operate a cultivation facility on the Mediterranean island and awarded MGC a contract to establish a 4,000-square-metre facility. MGC Pharma’s main objective is to create and supply CBD-based pharmaceutical products for medical markets in North America, Europe, and Australasia.
As validation of its products’ quality, MGC says that three of its research-backed premium CBD products within the ‘MGC Derma AntiAging’ collection have been shortlisted for the Notebook Anti-Aging Beauty Awards, a significant achievement for the company despite its small-cap market position.
“I am delighted to report that the Harvey Nichols’ launch of our MGC Derma and Derma Plus collections has been a success and is extending the products lines to two more stores. We have focussed a lot of attention on building our brand exposure and presence in the UK market and are pleased to see it has paid off,” said Roby Zomer, co-founder and managing director of MGC Pharmaceuticals.
“The UK is an exciting market for us due to recent changes in legislation and I look forward to exploring the possibilities for the MGC pharma division here,” said Mr Zomer.
Following this morning’s news, MGC shares were trading at $0.058 per share, up around 4% for the day.