From Luxury Fashion to Cannabis Tech | Melissa Hanson

What can cannabis learn from luxury fashion retail? Melissa Hanson, VP of Operations at Flowhub, brings decades of experience leading teams at Michael Kors and scaling cannabis retail at MedMen and Sunburn. Now at Flowhub, she’s focused on helping dispensaries operate smarter, smoother, and more profitably.In this conversation, Melissa explains why true retail excellence comes down to people, process, and purpose—not hype. She shares her philosophy on clienteling, building technology that empowers budtenders, and the importance of data-driven decision making in a fast-changing regulatory landscape.Whether you’re an operator, brand, or tech partner, this episode offers practical insights into creating cannabis retail experiences that last.Topics CoveredLessons cannabis can borrow from luxury fashion retailClienteling vs. loyalty programs in dispensariesHow Flowhub’s tools support budtenders and operatorsThe pitfalls of chasing “shiny objects” in product strategyCompliance complexity and adapting to shifting regulationsUpselling, promotions, and smarter inventory decisionsThe role of empathy and culture inside Flowhub’s teamE-commerce and pre-ordering as game-changers for cannabis retailBalancing open APIs with seamless all-in-one solutionsThe future: data-driven operators and lighter regulatory burdensAbout Our GuestMelissa Hanson is the Vice President of Operations at Flowhub. She has led 500-person retail teams at Michael Kors, launched cannabis delivery operations at MedMen, scaled vertically integrated retail in Florida, and now helps dispensaries run smarter with technology that empowers their staff and streamlines compliance.Links & ReferencesFlowhub: https://flowhub.com