Back on August 13, 2020, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Steve Saka announced a temporary halt on opening new purveyor accounts. It took a little while, but last week Saka announced he is opening up a window that will allow for the onboarding of new accounts.
Saka made the following statement in a press release:
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On August 13th, 2020 we were forced to cease opening any New Purveyor Accounts due to demand exceeding our capacity to supply our existing accounts. Since that time the demand has continued to grow with those accounts, but we have also been diligently committed to increasing our tobacco inventories and our production capacities. As promised in the original Press Release announcing the account moratorium that when production allowed, we would reverse the policy. For the first time in nearly two years, I am confident we can add a few additional Retailers to our customer base without hurting our ability to serve our existing accounts or the exceptional quality of our puros.
We made an exception during last year’s Trade Show and my hope is to do so again. However, it is not an ‘open spigot’, so we need to be judicious in order to protect our existing and any new Retail Partners while also continuing to supply cigar consumers with the quality they expect from us. Therefore, how many new account requests we receive in the next few weeks will determine whether we can do so again at this year’s Trade Show. Regardless, we will likely be forced to return to a moratorium on new accounts this summer, so this is a window of opportunity for those wishing to add our portfolio to their offerings.
I realize for some Retailers this may ‘rub them the wrong way’, but I ask that they please consider that we are doing our absolute best. Our cautious and meticulous approach to the market has allowed us to deliver exceptional quality cigars without the extended back-order delays or any dips in quality that some others have experienced. My intent is to continue to do so while also allowing our small family company to grow. Ultimately, I want our cigars to be available on all of the best Retailer’s shelves, but to achieve this means we need to be pragmatic and always protect our current customers’ needs first.[/themify_box]
