Warren Buffett's company subsidiary is marketing pot-growing spaces
Talk about savvy marketing.
Cubic Designs Inc., a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has sent hundreds of fliers to weed dispensaries in Colorado, Washington, and California. "Double your growing space," one flier reads in capital letters, while another page adds, "Grow your profits."
Cubic Designs builds additional platforms in warehouse spaces, allowing companies to expand usable areas of their holdings. A couple of marijuana growers independently contacted the company, inquiring about the "mezzanine systems." So, "we sold a few mezzanines into that market and decided internally, 'Why don't we do some marketing?'" Shannon Salchert, marketing coordinator for Cubic Designs, said.
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Contacting growers has been difficult because growing pot is "still secretive," Salchert notes, so the company has instead left the fliers at dispensaries. Warren Buffet did not respond to an interview request from Bloomberg Businessweek, but the 84-year-old billionaire is reportedly known for giving his company's offshoots a large amount of autonomy when it comes to operational decisions.
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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.