Today was one of the premier cigar herfs in the world – the Great Smoke sponsored by Smoke Inn. The Who’s Who of the cigar industry was down in West Palm Beach. While I wasn’t there, I was keeping a keen eye. Suddenly, in the late afternoon, my text messages started going off with something that Illusione Cigars’ Dion Giolito posted on Twitter – namely news that Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars was acquiring G.A.R!
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| Could Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars be buying G.A.R.? |
Wow! Shock waves were being set off. With mergers and acquisitions a part of the cigar industry like any other – could this really be true? Meanwhile another post was made on Facebook by Kristoff Cigars’ Glen Case. It was saying Exclusive Cigars was acquiring Illusione!
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| Could Glen Case of Exclusive Cigars be buying Illusione? |
It didn’t take long to figure out that all four of these guys – Dion Giolito, Glen Case, Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars, and George Rico of G.A.R. were all down at the Great Smoke. A couple of photos by Dion indicated this was all in fun. However, it is amazing what the power of social media can do. I got many questions from folks – and yes, when I saw Dion’s post on Matt Booth, I was even wondering.
My personal feeling – this was a nice pickup the cigar industry needed this week – even if it was a bit at our expense. It’s been one of the most brutal weeks ever in cigar industry history with Outdoor Smoking Bans passed in New York City and Raleigh, NC – plus the loss of the great Sal Fontana and Gary Hyams leaving CAO. When you can see different manufacturers -who all compete with each other, have some fun – this is awesome. It shows that camaraderie isn’t just among consumers in a cigar shop, but it extends further. Find me another industry that can have such fun. Great work, by great people – you are what make the industry the best in the world.
