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THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD |
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 Views from a Smoke-Filled Room
by Rich Perelman
Editor-in-Chief
Los Angeles, July 30 – For the first time in several years, there were genuine smiles on the faces of exhibitors at the annual Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade show.
Interest from attendees in Las Vegas for new products was good. Sales were up, confidence was high. Despite all of the annoying news about regulation of the tobacco industry, the bottom line from Las Vegas is that people are still smoking cigars . . . and there are more of them, and they are enjoying it more.
We fielded questions from accessory distributors, with thousands of accounts across the nation, about representing some lines of cigars, unheard of since the days of the Cigar Boom. Why? They want to grow their business and cigars are headed upward again.
One of the reasons is the fabulous tobacco now available. As predicted two years ago by Manuel Quesada, the widely-respected head of MATASA (maker of Fonseca, Cubita, Casa Blanca, Licenciados, among others), the horde of tobacco planted during the Cigar Boom has now had time to age and is producing sensational new flavors and balanced, comfortable blends that give smokers continued confidence in their regular brands and the interest to trying something new.
And the details are right. There is more care in the creation of brand names, attractive bands, elegant boxes and a dedication to making cigars which can sell at price points – after tobacco taxes – which are affordable for any smoker. It’s true that you can buy exquisite Davidoffs at more than $20 apiece. But there are now outstanding buys in cigars in the $3-7 range, even including the punitive tobacco taxes imposed by some states.
Judging by comments from retailers, smokers are asking for more taste, less bitterness and a ring gauge of 48 and up for most smokes. Most discussions pointed to the Robusto size – 5 inches by 50 ring – as the most popular format requested. And although the 7-plus inch Churchill or Double Corona is widely enjoyed, many retailers I spoke to think the new second-most-popular size is the Toro, made popular by Te-Amo. At 6 inches and 50 ring, it’s not quite the investment in time or money of Churchill (7 x 48) or Double Corona (7+ x 50+), but they smoke longer than a Robusto and deliver the full taste of the blend thanks to its girth.
Darker wrappers are more and more popular since proper fermentation of wrapper leaves can induce more sweetness in the smoking experience. One example is the new Carlos Torano Tribute 2004, which showed a glorious, nearly black (oscuro shade) wrapper which promised an elegant, sweet taste to complement the already-appreciated Torano filler blend.
Manufacturers are also enjoying closer and closer ties to their leaf producers, and those who are both growers and cigar makers are beginning to showcase their ability to produce superior cigars at modest prices, thanks to efficiencies from their vertical integration. This was especially apparent in the new lines (and modest prices) shown by the new Tabacalera Tropical and by the Oliva Cigar Company, long known as growers, but now demonstrating an accelerated increase in the kinds and types of cigars they offer. We will have tastings of these new lines in the near future in this space, and as part of our Brand Rankings for our CigarWire subscribers.
Accessory manufacturers are also beginning to stir. We saw a significant increase in the kinds and types of humidification devices available, now for the serious smoker who wants to bring medical-instrument-type quality to his or her humidor. Humidors with lustrous finishes are available at reasonable prices. Cases of outstanding leathers in elegant colors and finishes are available in a size to suit anyone and at a variety of price points. For smokers in the U.S., there are at least two new magazines ready to debut in the fall.
There was optimism in Las Vegas, hope that the modest, single-digit-growth increases in cigar imports (and consumption) will continue. Whether the good feelings were just a mirage induced by the blast-furnace temperatures of the Nevada summer or the herald of a new prosperity is yet to be determined. But the premium cigar industry – only a single turbine in the much larger engine of the tobacco trade – is spinning a little faster, and a lot happier, in the summer of 2004.
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