 Plus: Cuba buys $30 million in Cornhusker grains and beans
Los Angeles, August 24 – Capitalism breeds innovation. Adapt to change, find a new solution and you’ll make more money and be more successful.
As a law which bans large-scale tobacco displays from stores makes its way across Canada, retailers have come up with varied reactions including one which was certainly not expected: banning children under the permitted smoking age from entering the store.
Such laws now exist in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and Ontario and Quebec are expected to adopt similar stands next spring. While the health ministers of the provinces tout their fight against cigarettes, retailers and teens have different ideas.
A CTV News report noted that two convenience stores – not smokeshops – in Saskatchewan simply banned children from their stores. “We’re making more money off the tobacco companies than we are off kids being in the store,” said Ted Cooper of Supersave Gas in Saskatoon.
Rather than selling from open displays, retailers are required to hide tobacco products. Some use curtains – regaling customers with an elaborate ceremony when opened and closed – or cabinets which close and are opaque.
The CTV News story noted that the group being “protected” had other ideas about the law:
“Young smokers – the very people whose health the law was intended to safeguard – insist the law won’t stop them from lighting up.
“At least one Winnipeg teen agreed.’It doesn’t really matter because most people I know steal from their parents,’ he told CTV. ‘They’re not old enough to buy cigarettes anyway.’”
The anti-tobacco zealots swear that any reduction in tobacco consumption is worthwhile, but the Saskatchewan stores may have hit on the answer for cigar merchants facing future pressures. Simply keeping smokeshops which sell cigars and pipe tobacco for adults only – similar to the situation for bars – may be a way to retain more freedoms by eliminating the “danger” of exposing the existence of perfectly legal products to underage consumers.
One wonders when beer, wine and spirits will be removed from open store shelves in Canada. Isn’t underage drinking a problem, too?
Or have the zealots not yet learned from their American neighbors, who come north to consume Cuban cigars by the box, that making something off-limits only makes it more desirable.
Cigar imports zoom in June:
The Cigar Association of America reported that June imports of handmade cigars into the U.S. reached 28.68 million units, a staggering increase of 18.9% over June 2004. Wow!
For the first six months of the year, the total number of handmade cigars imported into the U.S. was 131.7 million, more than 10 million ahead of last year’s 121.0 million total, a gain of 8.8%.
Telescoping this to the end of the year, an 8.8% gain over 2004's total of 282.1 million would put imports at just over 307 million, passing the 300 million mark for only the third time ever and the first time since 1998. (Sharp-eyed readers will remember the preliminary announcement of the 2004 total at 304 million, but this was revised downward to 282 million early this year.)
Each of the Big Three cigar-producing nations showed increases in exports to the U.S. in June, with the Dominican Republic sending 14,494,000 cigars compared to 11,873,000 last year. That’s more than half of all cigars imported into the U.S.
Honduras saw a big increase in year-over-year exports to the U.S., sending 9.3 million in June 2005 against 7.5 million in 2004. Nicaragua was a little higher, with 4.8 million cigars exported compared to 4.3 last year.
Prices of cigars coming into the U.S. were down for June compared to 2004 for the Dominican Republic (92 cents vs. 93.3 cents) and Honduras (73.5 cents vs. 74.6 cents), while Nicaraguan-made cigars cost a little more (52 cents vs. 50 cents in 2004).
Altadis takeover rumors persist:
Despite many comments to the contrary, financial analysts continue to note that Britain’s Imperial Tobacco could make Altadis S.A. an acquisition candidate. Despite restrictions on tobacco in most of its markets, Imperial has prospered, upping its profits by cutting costs while maintaining sales levels. To keep growing, it needs more acquisitions, upon which it can work its cost-cutting talents.
While smaller companies would appear to be more likely targets, speculation about Altadis continues.
Nebraska trade mission scores $30 million in sales in Cuba:
The Nebraska agricultural sales team that visited Cuba last week sold even more foodstuffs than they expected, according to reports filed by The Associated Press. Led by Republican Governor Dave Heineman, the original agreement was for about $17 million in beans, corn, wheat and soybeans, but was increased to about $30 million by the Cubans. The additional purchases were requested after the sales team had returned home.
Now, Nebraska will sell nearly 80,000 tons of food to Cuba:
> 10,000 tons of great northern beans;
> 25,000 tons of corn;
> 25,000 tons of wheat;
> 15,000 tons of soybeans, and
> 3,000 tons of pinto and black beans, plus other agricultural products.
This deal follows a smaller agreement for $15 million in sales to Louisiana.
~ Rich Perelman
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