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IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A RADIO STATION? |
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 Plus: Two Guys Smoke Shop expanding
Los Angeles, May 26 – You’re certainly familiar with those radio station cash giveaways with clue after clue until someone wins.
So is General Cigar.
They finished their first “Excalibur Quest” on May 7, with two men showing up at the right spot at the right time to claim a special Excalibur box with $5,000 cash inside!
It was quite a clever promotion, lasting eight weeks with clues given week by week at Chicago-area tobacconists. At the end, contestants had to find “Jerry” at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 7 and say “EMS” to claim the prize. The mystery location was Chicago’s famed Second City Theater at North Wells and North Avenue.
(“EMS” refers to English Market Selection, a popular shade of wrapper made famous on the Excalibur line.)
Two men – Robert Fuhrman and William Bedsole (pictured above) – showed up to claim the prize and split the $5,000 total. Fuhrman is a technical director for a local law firm and plans to expand (?) his winnings by going to Las Vegas. Bedsole, who works for Motorola, collected his winnings, then took in the Cubs-Phillies game (another Cubs loss) and then started shopping for a new, big-screen television.
The concept was a pilot program for a potential multi-city competition next year and the contest drew considerable local notice from area radio stations and the Chicago Tribune.
Michigan squeezing cigarette smokers:
The cash-starved state of Michigan has sent letters to some 2,800 buyers of cigarettes from Michigan-based Internet sites asking for the state’s $2-per-pack cigarette tax.
According to a story filed by The Associated Press, two web sites – DirtCheapCig.com and eSmokes.com – provided the names of 11,579 Michigan residents who purchased 581,808 cartons of cigarettes and should have paid the state tax. About $8.5 million is at stake for the state.
The initial wave of 500 letters sent in February to those who bought more than 300 cartons online brought in $2.5 million and the newest mailing asks for an average of $3,200 in taxes due. There are rewards of up to $5,000 offered for information identifying tax-free cigarette buyers to the state.
This action, which proceeds under the 1949 Jennings Act – a federal statute – allows state to collect data on cigarette purchases not made in person in licensed tobacco sales locations. The language specifies cigarettes and does not extend to cigars, pipe tobacco or other tobacco products.
Two Guys becoming three or four or more guys:
New Hampshire’s favorite cigar store is going regional!
Dave Garofalo, the energetic owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop of Salem, New Hampshire, announced the opening of a second Two Guys store, a franchise, in Seabrook, New Hampshire opening in late July.
Roy and Ann Kirby, ten-year veterans of the current Two Guys location, will operate the new store with a third location planned to open by the end of this year. Garofalo’s ambition extends to a 10-11 store empire in place by the end of 2006.
“Two Guys feels that we are ready to take [our] simple formula of customer service, commitment to value and huge selection of cigars to the next level,” wrote Garofalo in an electronic mail message. They already stock cigars from domestic machine-mades all the way to the pinnacle of handmades, including their status as a Davidoff Appointed Merchant. In addition, Two Guys imports some 20 private-level brands for its customers.
Hammer time:
More action on Opus X on eBay:
• The special November 2004 box of 22 Opus X cigars created for the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation went out for a bargain price of $560.00 ($25.45 per stick) on May 16. There were 21 bids in all for box no. 89 of 500, and the winner got a substantial discount from the regular price of $750.00!
• A sealed box of Opus X Super Belicosos (5 1/2 inches by 55 ring) earned only seven bids from a starting price of $450.00, but ended at $595.00, an average of $20.52 for the 29 cigars included in the box.
• A box of Opus X Robustos (5 1/4 x 50) sold by Nice Ash Cigars went for $490.09, drawing 18 bids for the box of 29. That’s a less-than-average average of $16.90 per stick, a bargain for the winning bidder.
~ Rich Perelman
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