Trendy Cannabis Compound Finds Surprising Retail Outlet in DSW

(Bloomberg) -- Discount retailer DSW Inc. has a solution for shoe-shopping stress: beauty products laced with CBD, a non-intoxicating compound found in hemp and marijuana.

DSW will start selling Seventh Sense products, including body lotions, foot creams and muscle balms, at 96 of its more than 500 U.S. stores, according to a statement Thursday. The CBD merchandise is produced by Green Growth Brands, a cannabis company run by a former DSW executive that is backed by the retail fortune of Ohio’s Schottenstein family. Jay Schottenstein is chairman of the footwear chain.

CBD is having a moment as cannabis regulations are eased around the country. While the compound, a cousin on THC, doesn’t get users high, proponents say it helps with anxiety and depression, among other ailments. The recent passage of the U.S. farm bill legalized CBD-derived from hemp, opening up a channel for mainstream retailers and large public companies to dip their toe into the burgeoning cannabis industry.

The DSW stores carrying the products are in states that have legalized cannabis for adult use.

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Giammona in New York at cgiammona@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.