 Plus: Partagas 150th Anniversary cigars earn strong interest on eBay
Los Angeles, January 18 – In the cigar world, discussion of Cuban brands is usually split into pre-Castro (or pre-Revolution or our preference, pre-nationalization) and post-Castro.
But it’s apparent that discussion of the Cuban cigar industry today must be split again into pre-Altadis and post-Altadis.
In 2000, Altadis – itself a merger of the government tobacco monopolies of Spain (Tabacalera) and France (SEITA) – purchased a half-interest in Habanos, S.A., the distribution company for all cigars produced in Cuba. The immediate result was to infuse a substantial amount of cash into the Cuban treasury – reported to be about $480 million, although the final price depended on some future sales figures – and to give Altadis more say in the production and distribution of Havana cigars.
The results have been startling. Whether as a result of closer cooperation with the main buyer of its cigars – Altadis – or because of some new and clever marketing energy in the Habanos team, the whole picture of production has changed since 2000.
The Cubans had already started to see the possibilities for new brands while watching the “Cigar Boom” of the 1990s in the U.S. from 90 miles south of Key West. A new handmade brand for worldwide sale was introduced for the first time since 1982 when Cuaba debuted in 1996, enlarging the production of perfectos from a single size in a single brand (Partagas Presidentes) to an entire line. Quickly in succession came Vegas Robaina and Vegueros (1997), Trinidad (1998) and San Cristobal de la Habana (1999).
With the start of the annual Festival de la Habano in 1998, special one-off humidors of spectacular style were offered in an annual auction and drew cumulative bids of as much as $1 million, which was donated to Cuban health care authorities.
But after 2000 came another revolution, one keenly attuned to the market, the increasing affluence and passion of cigar smokers around the world. Beyond anniversary humidors and the massive Siglo XXI cabinet (retail: $100,000) came a blizzard of specialty products and sizes which raised a slice of the Havana cigar market to a height commanded by ultra-lux goods like jewelry, wine and spirits:
• Edicion Limitadas starting in 2000, showcasing the top Havana brands, often in sizes not seen in decades.
• Special brand humidors not simply offering existing sizes in a new box, but with special sizes sometimes created just for that project:
> Bolivar Hermosos No. 4 (5 x 48) for the Bolivar Humidor in 2002;
> Cohiba Media Coronas (5 1/2 x 38) for the new “Seleccion Reserva” concept in 2003;
> Cuaba Distinguidos (6 3/8 x 52 perfecto) and Salomones (7 1/4 x 57 perfecto) for the Cuaba Cabinet in 2001.
> El Rey del Mundo Piramides in the Rey del Mundo Humidor of 2002.
> H. Upmann Prominentes (7 5/8 x 49) for the 160th Anniversary Cabinet (who celebrates a 160th anniversary, except to sell something?).
> Montecristo No. 4s decorated with a special band picturing legendary Cuban musician Compay Segundo on his 94th birthday, and
> A Montecristo humidor with 50 Monte “A” cigars and 50 in the Salomones No. 2 format (6 7/8 x 57 perfecto).
• Revival of the “Libro,” a special humidor packaged as a book, issued annually, containing special sizes not normally in the production line.
• Sampler packs of specific sizes, like the “Seleccion Robusto” and “Seleccion Piramide” (pictured) with not only brands which produce those sizes, but special editions of brands for which the Piramide or Robusto sizes are specialties for this product only:
> Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas and Romeo y Julieta in the Piramide case, and
> Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta in the Robusto case.
Scarcity in all of these items, combined with better production quality and an elevated marketing and communications effort in 2002 and 2003 that would make French luxury goods makers like Hermes proud, has created not only a healthy growth in prices (and profits), but has developed a new enthusiasm about Havana cigar enthusiasts and collectors.
Tomorrow: a way to increase profits again while satisfying the interests of the keenest (and wealthiest) collectors.
Hammer Time:
Although the number of interesting cigar lots which show up on eBay has lessened since the holidays, buyers are eager to snap up cigars you don’t see every day, such as limited-production lines from Dominican makers like General Cigar.
Last night, a well-kept box of 25 Partagas 150th Anniversary “AA” cigars earned an impressive 17 bids and finally went down for $1,037,00. The bidding started at a serious $550 and went up from there. The cigars themselves debuted in 1995 as part of General Cigar’s salute to the 150th anniversary of the Partagas brand. The double corona “AA” size measures 7 1/2 inches by 49 ring.
Among the mass of humidors and accessories on offer is a very nice tabletop humidor created by Altadis to promote the launch of its Trinidad line in 2002. It features a glass top over a tray with dividers for easy access to different sizes of cigars and two glass doors with the Trinidad logo on each side, opening to reveal six pull-out drawers for additional cigar storage. It’s elegant and heavy and has drawn six bids so far with a top bid of $585. The auction ends on Saturday.
Want to get into the cigar business? There are two retail stores up on eBay this week: a Denver, Colorado store called “The Joker” which offers cigars, cigarettes, pipes and a wide selection of gifts with a starting bid of $150,000 and Sunrise Coast Tobacco in Flint, Michigan, with a starting bid of $100,000 and a “buy it now” price of $155,000. We’ve profiled the Sunrise Coast Tobacco story before and it’s a remarkable store with a 24-year history of success and excellent trade accounts (including Opus X, Padron and others). It’s up for another 18 days and The Joker for another 24 days.
~ Rich Perelman
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