The Full 2025 PCA Post-Game Report | Feature Story

Today, I present my annual PCA Post-Game Report for 2025. This is my detailed breakdown of the Trade Show and some prevailing thoughts. This is the tenth consecutive Trade Show for which I have published such a report. I break down my observations of this year’s Trade Show in this full “Post-Game” report.

This year, I published four daily post-game recaps from the Trade Show. These recaps were designed to provide brief summaries of each day’s events. Additionally, there will be a Cigar Coop Coalition recap highlighting our favorite cigars, companies, and booths from the PCA. Look out for that later this month.

If you follow the cigar industry, there is no bigger drama than the annual PCA Trade Show. Those who tell you they don’t care about the PCA Trade Show are sometimes the ones commenting the most on it. This is why this drama justifies a detailed article. The topics are not in a particular order but were arranged somewhat for a logical flow.

This will not conclude the Cigar Coop 2025 PCA coverage. We still have more product-centric coverage and company reports over the next few weeks.

Finally, the thoughts in this article are those of the author and the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other members of the Cigar Coop team.

As for my overall grade, it was A. Details will follow.

How good was this show for PCA?

Simply put, this was a great Trade Show. I’ve been covering PCA Trade Shows for 15 years (going back to 2010), and honestly, the case can be made for this being the best one, if not a top-three Trade Show during that span.

In 2019, I was quite critical of PCA because I felt they were unprepared for that Trade Show. When the pandemic struck, the Big Four companies withdrew, and (because of the pandemic) the 2020 Trade Show was cancelled. Many believed this marked the end for the PCA Trade Show. However, former Executive Director Scott Pearce, along with his staff and the board, managed to turn things around. Each subsequent year has shown improvement and positive momentum. With Joshua Habursky at the helm this year, the Trade Show went to the next level.

The biggest reason for this was the preparation. This involved PCA Staff and Board members visiting New Orleans and getting a lay of the land. I heard positive feedback on the after-hours events at Manning’s and Cuban Creations. The Comedy/Awards night feedback was good (I’ll have more to say on that later in this report). I wasn’t at these events, but spoke to enough people to say this worked well.

The Moment of the Show

With all due respect to the Fuente/Dupont collaboration, the Perdomo Legacy unveiling, and the Plasencia Alma Del Cielo presentation, something else stood out. This event took place on opening day, during the debut of a rough cut of the documentary Hand Rolled: Julio R. Eiroa. The film focuses on Julio R. Eiroa, a legendary figure in the cigar industry. Julio spends his days on his farm in the Jamastrán Valley in Honduras. Today, his sons, Justo and Christian Eiroa, manage the companies CLE Cigar and JRE Tobacco.

“The moment” occurred during Hand Rolled – more of an extended moment. To see Justo and Christian Eiroa’s expressions as they watched their Dad’s amazing story be told is something I will never forget. I happened to be sitting at the next table over from them during the premiere.

It was the Little Things

The trade show was great due to several small yet important details. First, I want to acknowledge Joshua Habursky, the Executive Director. I noticed him on the trade show floor multiple times, checking in with various attendees to ensure they were having a positive experience. Additionally, he made sure that the media had access to the trade show at the time promised, which was a fantastic benefit.

Second, the PCA Cafe was really good. Tatuaje sponsored this. PCA Cafe was an outdoor smoking lounge set up outside the convention center, and it served as a gathering hub in the morning where you could smoke.

There was a Cafe du Monde truck complete with coffee and beignets! As many know, the original Cafe du Monde is where Cigar Coop was born.

The cafe may have been underutilized this year, but it was a great addition to the Trade Show. This will be a growing part of the Trade Show next year. Hopefully, this model moves to Las Vegas in 2027.

Finally, the weather did help. The temperature and humidity were perfect, and there was no rain.

The French Quarter Festival

“Oh my goodness, they scheduled PCA right in the middle of the French Quarter Festival. It’s going to be madness, and there aren’t going to be enough hotel rooms!”

The quote above is one paraphrased from pre-show feedback I heard numerous times. This quote proved to be completely wrong. Not only was it not difficult to get a hotel room, but I think the French Quarter Festival was one of the best things to happen to PCA week. The French Quarter Festival is huge, and PCA being in town is a rounding error. New Orleans can handle the French Quarter Festival.

I’m not a fan of crowds, but I had the opportunity to explore the French Quarter Festival. This festival celebrates New Orleans culture, with a strong focus on food, music, and art. I found that it created a wonderful atmosphere and served as an ambassador for visitors to the city, including those attending the PCA. I believe that the PCA should consider scheduling future conventions during this festival so that attendees can enjoy it.

Attendance Spikes

These are the retail attendance and retail badge numbers:

The increases were quite astonishing. In 2025, there was a 9.52% increase in retail accounts and an 11% increase in badges from retail accounts. We acknowledged the concerns before the Trade Show: 1) The week before Easter, Masters Weekend, the French Quarter Festival, etc. Despite this, the trade show experienced increases not seen in a very long time.

First, credit the Premium Cigar Association (PCA). As I said earlier, they were extremely well-prepared to put on a Trade Show in New Orleans. On top of that, there was a significant outreach effort to recruit new retailers and bring back old retailers. These efforts clearly paid off.

I believe that the return of the Trade Show to the Eastern U.S. was something we in the media may have underestimated. Many retailers chose to attend the Trade Show because it was within driving distance for them. While this doesn’t diminish the efforts of PCA, it definitely contributed to the show’s success.

It is also shown in the patterns of foot traffic. I define foot traffic as the number of attendees on the show floor at any time. This is not a quantifiable measurement, but covering enough trade shows, I feel confident that the foot traffic increased.

But did the Sales Match the Attendance Spike?

This is a broader question that is quite challenging to quantify. With a 9.52% increase, one would expect a greater focus on sales. However, since the sales figures from the trade show are not disclosed, it becomes another difficult aspect to measure. Although I do not conduct formal surveys with manufacturers, I typically have off-the-record conversations with some of them before and after the show. In previous years, when attendance was lower, I would often hear remarks such as:

“Yes, there were fewer people, but the people who came to our booth were ready to do business. There were few to no tire kickers.”

The story changed this year. In off-the-record conversations, several manufacturers reported that while they had increased sales, many noted that those sales did not keep pace with the rise in attendance. In fact, there were a small few manufacturers that indicated their sales had actually decreased. Perhaps most intriguing were the mention of  “tire kickers” who “returned” this year.

I don’t think it’s fair to blame the tire kickers for this situation. There are lingering questions about the economy, and more importantly, some retailers have mentioned that they overbought in 2024 and needed to scale back in 2025.

Dilemma of the Final Day

The decline in attendance on the final day at the PCA Trade Show remains a significant challenge for the PCA, regardless of whether the event lasts for three or three and a half days. Many attendees feel it is natural to want to “get home early,” leading some to believe that this issue is unsolvable.

There are two events that come to mind that have pulled off a final day well, and those are Procigar and the Habanos Festival. Both have a gala with a live charity auction component, which is the highlight of the evening. This leads me to believe it’s not hopeless if PCA can pull off a gala.

The gala event wouldn’t come without a cost, and serving just pretzels, popcorn, and nachos wouldn’t suffice. As Abe Dababneh states, it must be a “can’t-miss” event. Although I didn’t attend the comedy event on day two this year, I still heard positive feedback; however, it wasn’t described as “can’t-miss.” A “can’t-miss” event requires food, music, entertainment, giveaways, and more.  Incorporating an auction component won’t be easy, and I’m also unsure about the retailers’ interest in such an event.

If this is an option, my advice is not to do a gala after the final day just yet. PCA needs to take the temperature of its audience and see if they would want a gala. Comedy night is a good start to do this, but it requires a lot more work. And no popcorn or pretzels, please.

Our (Lack of) Guy Fieri Coverage

One of the biggest criticisms lodged against the Cigar Coop team was our absence from the Fireside Chat with Guy Fieri on opening day.

Before the Trade Show, comments were made to Cigar Coop and me, claiming that I/we were “over the whole Guy Fieri thing.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. We have consistently stated that he has been the best celebrity to ever happen to the premium cigar industry. He, along with the Espinosa team, has been incredibly gracious, granting us multiple interviews with Guy, whether at the PCA or on KMA Talk Radio, which I co-host.

As for the PCA bringing him into the Fireside Chat, this was a tremendous move by the PCA, and we applaud it. The folks at Cigar Aficionado hosted the Fireside Chat. They also do an incredible job, and David Savona is a top choice for a moderator.

But there were two reasons that we were absent. The first is more of a logistical thing – we simply made a Coalition Team decision to cut back on after-hours and non-trade show activities. The day before the Trade Show, when the Fireside Chat occurred, was a day our team used for team building – something we never get a chance to do as a Coalition.

The second reason is that although Aficionado was a great choice for a host, they are a competing media outlet. PCA made a deliberate decision to collaborate with a media organization. When you partner with another media outlet, it is reasonable to expect that they will provide primary coverage. This is not to single out Cigar Aficionado as I would have made the decision to skip this if it were any other media outlet that is not a Coalition media partner. I’m not sure why anyone would expect us to cover someone else’s gig. If there was a lack of coverage on the Fieri Fireside Chat, one should not be looking at the Cigar Coop Coalition.

I will also put out that PCA is now in the media coverage game and took nearly three weeks to get a video out on the Fireside Chat.

We would have given this much coverage if the shoe were on the other foot. In this case, the decision to do team building and not cover another media outlet’s party is the right one – and one I stand by.

Media Rule Changed on Free Samples

This year, for the first time in almost 15 years, cigar media had the ability to ask for samples. Guess what? The world did not come crashing down.

Ever since I can remember, cigar media has been subject to the archaic rule where we were not allowed to ask for samples. The rule was implemented because a small group of bloggers viewed the PCA show as a trick or treat event for samples. The rule was put in place when talk of banning the media came.

Accepting a rule on not being able to ask for samples is one of the worst decisions cigar media has ever agreed to. The idea of not being able to ask for the product to see, touch, smell, and taste was ludicrous. This year, on a pre-show call with media, this archaic rule came up, pushback was made on the PCA. 24 hours passed, and the PCA lifted the rule. While not a big deal on paper, lifting a kindergarten rule is a big deal.

While not the case with this author, most media had been silent on this issue for years. On the recent How Bout That Cigar podcast, James Giehm of Simply Stogies expressed his displeasure, worrying about this deteriorating into a Trick or Treat event. He is certainly entitled to an opinion and should be respected for that. On the other hand on that PCA media pre-show call with the media, he failed to challenge the motion on the PCA ban on samples being lifted. That was quite disappointing.

Most importantly, if there were problems of trick or treaters in 2025, I didn’t hear them. But I’m sure some manufacturer will say there were some, and I’m sure we will never hear who they were.

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop