After facing repeated criticism for more than a year, Hobo Cannabis Company is changing its name to Dutch Love.

The business is making the switch because it wants to be inclusive and ensure no one sees its name as an effort to slight homeless people, said Jeff Donnelly, the president and chief executive of Hobo parent company, the Donnelly Group.

sa国际传媒淲e were a bit tone deaf when we came up with the name,sa国际传媒� Donnelly said.

sa国际传媒淥ne of our favourite magazines was called Hobo in the past and another amazing hotel in Denmark and as a cannabis company, we felt we had the same cultural values as some of those companies. We wanted to capitalize on the experience of cannabissa国际传媒� where you travel when you use it or where your mind wanders.sa国际传媒�

The Vancouver-based Donnelly Group, which is behind restaurants like the Lamplighter Public House in Vancouver and Berlin Love in Toronto, didnsa国际传媒檛 notice too much sa国际传媒渇rictionsa国际传媒� around the name until it opened its first store in 2019, he said.

Community and housing advocates have complained about negative connotations of the word, which they call an offensive term for homeless people. Hobo drew further backlash after it opened a Toronto store near a womensa国际传媒檚 shelter.

Previously, Donnelly held strong and kept the name, telling media it was a nod to wanderlust and harkened back to the 1920s when hobos were travelling workers.

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No specific incident prompted the name change, but it came as the COVID-19 pandemic and high-profile incidents of police brutality against the Black community triggered a shift in society and culture.

sa国际传媒淧eople have been empowered to speak up about what they believe in. Although we thought we really liked the culture of our brand, really itsa国际传媒檚 about our people,sa国际传媒� Donnelly said.

sa国际传媒淲e might be excluding someone by keeping up with the name. If we wanted to truly have an inclusive brand, we felt like we were going to have to change the name.sa国际传媒�

The company settled on Dutch Love sa国际传媒� a reference to Amsterdamsa国际传媒檚 liberal attitude towards cannabis and the countrysa国际传媒檚 key role in pot culture.

The Donnelly Group wanted to make the switch for awhile, but the change was slowed down by relationships it has with store owners.

Those with permission to call their stores Hobo were being asked to change their names after building up solid customer bases and brand recognition.

sa国际传媒淭o convince them to change the name from Hobo when the stores were doing fantastic was really, really difficult,sa国际传媒� said Donnelly, who eventually got everyone on board.

Hobosa国际传媒檚 12 stores will be converted to Dutch Love within the next three weeks as Donnelly works on opening another 14 shops and continues to grapple with COVID-19.

In prior months, Ontario government regulations forced the company to close several of its stores to help stop the spread of the virus.

Though Hobo offered curbside pickup and delivery, which amounted to 20 per cent of the companysa国际传媒檚 sales at one point, the province has since stopped retailers from offering such services.

The industry has been hurt even further because Canadians are still staying home during the pandemic and the illicit market is flourishing, said Donnelly, who is lobbying for the return of delivery and curbside services.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 been a lot of issues with the rollout of legal cannabis,sa国际传媒� said Donnelly.

sa国际传媒淲hile (COVID-19) has been happening, I think all the operators have been struggling to find a balance and wesa国际传媒檙e dealing with the government at every turn.sa国际传媒�

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

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