German Engineered Cigars has announced that Illusione Cigars will take over its distribution in the U.S. and globally, except for Europe. Previously, the company was handling its U.S. distribution through APS Distributors, the company owned by Tony Serino.

It’s the second significant partnership for German Engineered Cigars. Earlier this year, the company announced it was teaming up with Claudio Sgroi for new product development.

Over the next few weeks, the company will transfer its inventory to Illusione’s Reno, Nevada warehouse.

“Illusione is a fantastic brand, a great company, and a perfect match for us“, says Oliver Nickels, Co-Founder at German Engineered Cigars, in a press release. “This partnership will give us a unique opportunity to expand the reach of our brand – by working with a highly skilled, very professional globally operating distribution team.”

German Engineered Cigars’ Co-Founder Klaas Mahler added. “We are very grateful to Tony Serino and his team. APS helped us tremendously in building our U.S. presence. With Illusione, we want to grow beyond that, now having the opportunity to build on a strong sales team specialized in boutique cigars“.

“Mutual acquaintances led to partnership whereby Illusione cigars will now be the exclusive US distributor for German Engineered cigars. Both companies are looking forward to the partnership and cannot wait to see what the future holds“, said Dion Giolito, founder of Illusione. “Oliver and Klaas are true gentleman with brilliant ideas on the horizon and we can’t wait to assist them in bringing their cigars to market through our international distribution hub”.

German Engineered Cigars says European distribution could not be included in the agreement due to  EU (European Union) specific customs regulations.

In addition to German Engineered Cigars, 2021 has seen Illusione take on distribution for Cavalier Genève Cigars, Amendola Family Cigar Company, Wildfire Cigar Company, and Carolina Blue.