 Cautious optimism in the trade at the RTDA
Las Vegas, NV, July 28 – It’s not the Cigar Boom and it isn’t going to be. But things are looking a little brighter in the world of cigars as the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) trade show hit the halfway point.
Retailer after retailer shared stories of better sales. Not the land-office frenzy of the late 1990s, but measured growth, month by month. The outlook is better, but it is not as hot as the mind-numbing heat of the Las Vegas summer. Perhaps time to try a couple of new ideas.
Among manufacturers and distributors, there are careful introductions of a small number of new blends, tests for some new brands and better packaging with cigars in attractive boxes of 10, 12 or 15 instead of the traditional bundle or box of 25.
And the introductions are eye-catching and well thought out. A sampling:
• Drew Estates’ marriage of a favorite flavor, Sauza Tequila, into the curing of the tobacco to create an innovative three-shape brand, “Sauza Tres Generacions.”
• A walk on the wild side by Felipe Gregorio Tobacco World to offer, for the first time, a triple-striped wrapper with Indonesian, Connecticut-grown maduro and Nicaraguan-grown candela leaves wound around a medium-bodied blend of Dominican filler and a Dominican binder in two sizes in the “Capas” series.
• Topper Cigar Company, well known for decades for its machine-made cigars, enhancing its handmade Cosmo line with three elegant, richly-wrapped perfectos featuring Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers, a Honduran binder and famed Honduran-grown Corojo filler leaves. The shapes are the result of the re-use of 50-year-old molds to create an instant classic.
• A vibrant neon green color scheme that is the signature of the new Variety brand, a project of Nicole Alvarez, the granddaughter of the respected cigar maker Pedro Martin. Nicole’s brand offers not more than seven sizes in four different wrapper shades, offering the smoker a choice of their favorite wrapper and an excellent value at the same time.
• Ashton Distributors’ complex, peppery blend to reintroduce the Peterson brand, now in a medium-to-full-bodied weight, dignified with a gold-on-black label and richly-colored Cameroon wrapper.
Perhaps a sense of enjoyment is returning as well. Felipe Gregorio is handing out cute playing cards illustrating each of its brands and shapes. Garo Habano, an underappreciated boutique brand, is suggesting specific pairing concepts for scotch, tequila, port, wines and champagnes with each of its lines. A whole series of clever travel humidors, presentation boxes and even (as we wrote yesterday) the classic office jar from Altadis is being promoted for its Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann brands.
With the anti-tobacco movement still in full bloom, there is still plenty to worry about. But there is also a sense there are happy times ahead, too.
Puffs: Although there are plenty of suits and ties on the show floor, the casual movement is much in evidence among the manufacturers. As usual, the award for best team apparel goes to General Cigar for its daily, color-coordinated polo-style shirts. On Monday, it was black for Excalibur; yesterday, red for Partagas; today, white for Macanudo and on Thursday, beige for La Gloria Cubana. Details count, too: General produced specific shirts for its female staff instead of using the same shirts for everyone. Classy . . .
Attendance at the show is way up for 2004, with more than 5,200 badges distributed by yesterday morning. That’s reportedly up 25 percent from the show in Nashville, Tennessee, last year . . .
The hot sun in Vegas is taking its toll in a unique way, as the party-hardy attendees are starting to tire earlier in the evening and making only a party a night instead of the continuous cruise of past years . . .
The cigar “press” is starting to heat up again, with cigar or smoker-themed publications present from the U.S., Germany, Italy and Russia, with two new U.S.-based magazines set to start in the fall. More from the RTDA on Thursday as the show continues.
~ Rich Perelman
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