About Silverpeak
When Silverpeak opened the doors of its flagship Aspen dispensary in 2009, cannabis was largely unpopular and Colorado was still three years from adult-use legalization.
Today, Silverpeak Corp. boasts 8 retail locations (7 stores are branded “The Dab”), a state-of-the-art zero-odor hybrid greenhouse, and two MIP extraction and manufacturing labs.
To oversee this growth, Silverpeak’s Regional Manager Sean Renko said, “A big part of our recipe for success has been planning.” Sean and team approach cannabis retail like a well-oiled machine, making sure each part functions effectively before building more.
Silverpeak’s strategic path to success was recently made smoother when they upgraded to Flowhub Maui, the cannabis point of sale system for high-performing dispensaries.
The recipe for Silverpeak’s success
Sean and his team look at cannabis retail through a rational lens.
Here are key aspects that enable Silverpeak to effectively scale their multi-location dispensary business:
Spend wisely and pay on time
Silverpeak's motto is “Don’t bite off more than you can chew” when it comes to purchasing inventory and managing vendor relations. There's no reason to stock too much of any product until you know its velocity. Starting low and slow doesn't just apply to edibles, it works for stocking them too.
When it comes to paying for that inventory, Sean ensures every bill is paid on time and kept as low as possible. “We’re very mindful of our cost of goods, not only for cannabis products, but even things like exit bags, paper, computers, and anything else,” said Sean. “That stuff factors into your ability to efficiently run a store without sinking the ship.”
Price competitively (but don’t undercut)
Virtually every dispensary says they have fair prices. The secret for Sean is to back that statement up with data and research.
“We look at data and let that guide our pricing decisions. We keep an eye on the market and try to move with it. We’re not undercutting, but we keep prices extremely fair. It’s not a race to the bottom. Some dispensaries race to the bottom with discounts or price gouging, but the reality is one day those low prices will end. It’s not sustainable."
Sean Renko
Regional Manager at Silverpeak
Leverage centralized distribution
Sean believes centralized distribution—the logistics model of receiving and storing inventory in a central place, then transferring it to other dispensary locations—is “probably the most underrated practice right now.”
When product is delivered separately to each location, those delivery fees add up fast. Even paying $35 per drop-off can turn into thousands of dollars every year.
Plus, centralized distribution is a great way to keep each store properly stocked. Sean explains, “We monitor par levels at each store and move product from our central location as needed. The process is just more efficient.”
Use best-in-class tools
Silverpeak enhanced their operational efficiency after switching to Flowhub Maui. Now, Sean and his team automate previously manual tasks and have freed up considerable time for other priorities.
“With Maui, I have more time to train people, make internal improvements, negotiate with vendors, and uncover what works and doesn't work for the company.”
Sean Renko
Regional Manager at Silverpeak
How Silverpeak structures cannabis discounts
Most cannabis retailers offer some type of discount, but many are over-discounting and causing price compression.
Sean’s discounting strategy ensures Silverpeak offers enticing specials while maximizing profits at the same time.
“The first step in discounting is to negotiate with a vendor to get the best deal possible,” Sean explained, adding that “we're all going to win by losing a little—that’s how business works.”
Once an agreement is made for a discount, Silverpeak builds, tracks, and automates the specials with Maui's Deals engine.
This automation saves time at checkout, but also ensures data accuracy, “Because if you have 50 different people entering 50 different names for the same discount, that becomes messy.”
Maui’s Deals engine has proved indispensable for Sean.
“Our budtenders love how deals apply automatically to a sale. I love it even more. What used to take me four hours is now done automatically—it takes literally five seconds.”
Sean Reanko
Regional Manager at Silverpeak
The Maui difference
On top of everything Silverpeak does right—efficient operations, competitive prices, quality products, employee training, data cleanliness—they're able to go a step further with Flowhub Maui.
“For eight stores, I was really impressed with our switch to Maui. It was awesome,” said Sean.
Their transition to the new platform was smooth, but what really excited Silverpeak’s team was the fact Maui is 20x faster and very easy to use.
“Maui is significantly faster. It's significantly easier. If you're asking me what the best cannabis POS system is right now, it has to be Maui. Hands down, I don't think there's a better program out there."
Sean Renko
Regional Manager at Silverpeak
Sean uses Maui to make life easier for himself, his team, and also the owner he works for.
He told us, “If you own a dispensary, you don't log into Flowhub. You pull up the View app on your phone while you're on the beach and see things running smoothly. That's what I want. It means I'm doing my job right.”
That’s a pretty picture. 🏖️
Thank you to Sean and the Silverpeak team for sharing your learnings, and congratulations on all your success!
