Circle K’s parent company, Alimentation Couche-Tard, is strengthening its relationship with cannabis company Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. The companies are expanding their pilot program to open new Fire & Flower cannabis retail stores next to existing Circle K locations across Canada.

The company said the program’s expansion over the next several months would see new co-located retail stores opening in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The two companies plan to continue this strategy with expectations to venture into Ontario and the U.S.

“Alimentation Couche-Tard has been an invaluable partner to Fire & Flower as we built out Canada’s largest retail network of legal cannabis products and services over the past two years. Our success in Canada, and now as we enter into the U.S., is directly attributable to the powerful consumer data and analytics technology that we have successfully employed,” said Trevor Fencott, Chief Executive Officer of Fire & Flower. “As we continue to build on our leadership position, we are leveraging our powerful consumer data, strategically working with our key partners to capture this data and, together, enhance our collective cannabis operations,” he continued.

Fire & Flower has used Hifyre, ACT’s existing lease footprint and analytics platform, to create a small-scale store that also delivers strong economies of scale for both Fire & Flower and Circle K.

Fencott added, “As we continue to advance our relationship with Couche-Tard, we are driving a new level of service to our extensive operational footprint in Canada and beyond. We are able to leverage the power of Hifyre to allow these small co-located stores to run efficiently. The advanced analytics we provide allows stores to operate and manage inventory at maximum efficiency.”