The Bulldog
- For other uses, see Bulldog (disambiguation).
The Bulldog is an Amsterdam-based company that owns and operates a chain of cannabis coffee shops, a merchandising brand and a hotel in Canada. The group logo consists of a cartoon figure of a bulldog in a round frame.[1]
History
Henk de Vries began selling marijuana in 1970 at the Kralingen Music Festival, a pop festival in Kralingse Bos. In 1975 he converted his father's sex shop in Amsterdam's red-light district into The Bulldog coffee shop and slowly began expanding. In 2001 the company began distributing internationally.[1] In April 2001 it was announced that they would open a branch in Aix-en-Provence, France, but revoked the plan after legal representations by local authorities.[1]
In November 2008 it was announced that The Bulldog on Leidseplein and several other coffee shops would be closed in 2013, in enforcement of a tighter policy regarding the distance between coffee shops and schools.[2]
In 2010 The Bulldog was ordered to cease the sale and distribution of its own brand of energy drink, following a lengthy legal dispute with Red Bull GmbH, makers of Red Bull.[3]
In Canada
Bulldog owns and operates an hotel and two cafes in the Silver Star Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada.[4]