Davidoff has announced its 2017 Golden Band Award nominations. The awards program is meant to honor the company’s best Appointed Merchants who, according to Davidoff “truly embody the Davidoff Standard of Excellence”. There have been a couple of changes implemented this year.
First up, the awards will be presented on the IPCPR Trade Show floor on July 11th. In previous years, the awards were handed out at a gala white-tie dinner held concurrently with IPCPR. Secondly, the awards have been streamlined to seven categories this year.
“The Davidoff Golden Band Awards provide us with an opportunity to recognize our Appointed Merchant network and, in particular, those Appointed Merchants who have really taken their business with Davidoff to the next level. The success of Davidoff has been made possible through decades of close and longstanding partnerships with trusted merchants. Davidoff has a strong track record of cooperation with its family of retailers to help them grow their businesses, align on best practices and contribute towards the increased growth of the Davidoff brand,” said Jim Young, President of Davidoff North America in a press release announcing the Golden Band Award winners.
“The Golden Band Awards provides us the opportunity to say thank you to our Davidoff Appointed Merchants not only for their partnership, but also their support, enthusiasm and commitment to high standards,” added Richard Krutick, Vice President of Marketing for Davidoff USA.
2017 Nominees
Of the nominees, Ambassador Fine Cigars in Scottsdale, Arizona and Corona Cigar Company of Orlando, Florida each had three nominations. Cigars by Chivas, Club Humidor, Hemingway’s, and Tobacconist of Greenwich each had two.
Best Performance (Single Location)
This is awarded to the Appointed Merchant with a single location that has the highest level of Davidoff brand purchases.
All of the past winners in this category are up for the award again. Tobacconist of Greenwich won this award three years in a row from 2012 to 2014. Blend Cigar Bar took the honors in 2015 while Maxamar won in 2016.
Blend Bar Cigar (Indianapolis, IN)
Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, CA)
Maxamar Ultimate Cigars (Orange, CA)
Regency Cigar Emporium (Greenwich, RI)
Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
Best Performance (Multiple Location)
This is awarded to the Appointed Merchant with two or more locations that has the highest level of Davidoff brand purchases.
Ambassador Fine Cigars won the award in 2013 and 2016. Corona Cigar Company took the honors in 2014 and 2015.
Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, AZ)
Anthony’s Cigar Emporium (Tucson, AZ),
Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
Tinder Box (Charlotte, NC)
W. Curtis Draper (Washington, DC)
Davidoff Growth (Single Location)
This is awarded to the Appointed Merchant with a single location that has the largest percentage and dollar increase of Davidoff brand sales. Hemingway’s won the honor in 2016.
Belicoso Café Inc (Wyandotte, MI)
Cigars by Chivas (Pasadena, CA)
Coco Cigars (Miami, FL)
Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, CA)
Smoker’s Haven (Lincroft, NJ)
Davidoff Growth (Multiple Locations)
This is awarded to the Appointed Merchant with two or more locations that has the largest percentage and dollar increase of Davidoff brand sales. Corona Cigar Company won the honors in 2013.
Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, AZ)
Club Humidor (San Antonio, TX)
Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
Davidus Cigars (Frederick, Maryland)
Two Guys Smoke Shop (Nashua, NH)
Davidoff Appointed Merchant of the Year
This is awarded to the Appointed Merchant with the largest percentage and dollar increase of the complete Davidoff of Geneva Distribution portfolio. Tobacconist of Greenwich won the award in 2016.
Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, AZ)
Cigars by Chivas (Pasadena, CA) 2
Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
Il Regalo Preferito (McAllex, TX)
Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
Best Merchandising
This honors the Appointed Merchant who best meets the Davidoff Brand merchandising expectations. Franklin Cigar won the 2016 award for this category.
Bo’s Cigar Lounge (Bellflower, CA)
Club Humidor (San Antonio, TX)
Franklin Cigar (Franklin, TN)
The Cigar Shop of Biloxi (Biloxi, MS)
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood (Ridgewood, NJ)
Canadian Depositaire of the Year
This is the award for Canadian retailers. Zigarren – A Simple Pleasure was the 2016 winner.
Burlington on Whyte (Edmonton, Alberta)
Cigar Connoisseurs (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Nottingham Cigars & Pipes (Sherwood Park, Alberta)
The Humidor Cigar Company Ltd (Woodbridge, Ontario)
Zigarren – A Simple Pleasure (Calgary, Alberta)
Past Winners
For reference, here were the previous winners.
Best Merchandising
2012 Island Smoke Shop (Key Largo, FL)
2013 Prime Cigar & Wine Bar (Boca Raton, FL)
2014 Cup O’ Joes (Queensbury, NY)
2015 Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood (Ridgewood, NJ)
2016 Franklin Cigar (Franklin, Tennessee)
Canadian Depositaire of the Year
2016 Zigareen – A Simple Pleasure (Calgary , AB)
Best Davidoff Performance (Single Location)
2012 The Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
2013 The Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
2014 The Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
2015 Blend Bar Cigar (Indianapolis, Indiana)
2016 Maxamar Ultimate Cigars (Orange, CA)
Best Davidoff Performance (Multiple Locations)
2012 Humidor Of Westmont (Westmont, IL)
2013 Ambassador Fine Cigars (Scottsdale, AZ)
2014 Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
2015 Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
2016 Ambassador Fine Cigars (Scottsdale, AZ)
Davidoff Growth Award (Single Location)
2012 Ambassador Fine Cigars (Scottsdale, AZ)
2013 Angry Moon Cigars (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
2014 Cigarz on the Avenue (Winter Park, FL)
2015 Cigarz on the Avenue (Winter Park, FL)
2016 Hemingway’s (Palo Alto CA)
Davidoff Growth Award (Multiple Locations)
2012 Cigars by Chivas (Pasadena, CA)
2013 Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, FL)
2014 Humidor of Westmont (Westmont, IL)
2015 Casa de Montecristo (Chicago, IL)
2016 Tinder Box Cigars (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Appointed Merchant of the Year
2012 Tinder Box Waldorf (Waldorf, MD)
2013 Maxamar Cigar (Orange, CA)
2014 Tinder Box of Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)
2015 Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, CT)
2016 Blend Bar Cigar (Indianapolis, IN)
Editor’s Note (6/30/17): There was an error in a Davidoff press release that The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood was listed incorrectly, as well as the location for Bo’s Cigar Lounge. We have made the corresponding corrections in this article.
