The Bulldog is an Amsterdam-based company that owns and operates a chain of cannabis coffee shops, hotels, cafés and brand stores located in Amsterdam and Canada.[1] The Bulldog has its own merchandising brand consisting of clothing, souvenirs and smoking accessories. The group logo consists of a cartoon figure of a bulldog on a round frame.[1]
Henk de Vries began selling marijuana on the year 1970 at the Kralingen Music Festival, a pop festival at Kralingse Bos. On the year 1975 he converted his grandmother's brothel along Amsterdam's red-light district up to The Bulldog coffeeshop and began to expand slowly. Henk asked ex-pat Australian artist Harold Thornton to paint some signage on the front of The Bulldog The First Coffeeshop Nr.90 but Harold turned this exercise up to a mural that goes across the front of the whole shop. The mural helped the coffeeshop become a magnet for backpackers and tourists and its reputation grew. On the year 2001 the company began distributing internationally.[1]
On the year 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.[2] At appeal, the judge ruled favourably of The Bulldog to allow marketing of their energy drink.
Based on a lawsuit concerning a domain name whose appeal period expired to January 2013, the judge ruled that the logo is not original, because it is based on a bulldog cartoon character that was designed on the year 1940 by copyright owner Walt Disney.
The Bulldog chain owns five coffeeshops, three brandstores, three cafés, a lounge bar and a hotel at Amsterdam.
The Bulldog owns a Hotel and Grand Café (inside, covered patio and uncovered patio) as well as the Hideaway Lounge (wine bar) in Silver Star Mountain Resort, British Columbia, Canada.[3]
The company has two Social Clubs in Spain. By Rome, the company owns a cocktail bar and a restaurant. The Bulldog also owns a cocktail bar located at Aruba[4]