On October 23rd, tobacco giant Altria announced it was exploring options for Nat Sherman International, including the possibility of a sale. A part of the potential sale includes its wholesale premium cigar business as well as the lease of the company’s flagship Townhouse store in Manhattan. Today, we take a closer look at what this […]
Feature Story: For Top 25 Ratings in 2018 – Press Releases Mattered
If one wanted to predict what cigars will end up on the leading cigar industry end of the year lists, one may want to look at what companies have provided press releases to the media. On the two lists considered to be the most influential: 25 of the 25 entries of the 2018 Halfwheel Consensus […]
Feature Story: Analysis of STG’s Pending Acquisition of Royal Agio Cigars
On September 16, 2019, there came shocking news to many in the cigar industry that Royal Agio Cigars was being acquired by tobacco giant Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG). As we typically do on Cigar Coop, we will here offer analysis on what this news could mean for both parties as well as cigar enthusiasts. Why […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Five Companies that “Held the Line” at the 2019 Trade Show
“Holding the line” is a term I use to describe those companies that come into the IPCPR with no new product and no new packaging. It’s the final article of our 2019 IPCPR Coverage – and at times it is the most challenging one to write. Namely, what exactly do you write – that the […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Cigar Marketplace
This year marked the debut of Starky Arias’ new company, Cigar Marketplace. For many years, the cigar industry has known Arias for his work. Arias is best known for his work as a creative director for many cigar brands, and for his tenure at Cigar Rings and Marketing Director for AJ Fernandez Cigars. With Cigar […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: A.C.E. Prime
A.C.E. Prime is a new cigar company that had its official launch at the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show. You have to go back to Micallef Cigars in 2017 to see a company that has had a major launch on the level of A.C.E. Prime. The company launched four brands and ten different blends. While much […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Oveja Negra Brands
2019 was a very different year for cigar maker James Brown and his team at the IPCPR Trade Show. This year, Brown exhibited a the 2019 IPCPR under the name of Oveja Negra Brands. While Black Label Trading Company was the brand that started it all for James Brown, over the past few years he […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Tatuaje Cigars
At the last IPCPR Trade Show, once again the brands of Tatuaje and L’Atelier were under one roof. This year Pete Johnson kept most of what he planned to showcase at IPCPR under wraps until the Trade Show opened. When it did, there was nice assortment of offerings to keep Tatuaje fans quite happy. There […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
As we have noted for the past couple of years, the days of a large number of IPCPR releases by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars appear to be over. 2019 was no exception as this year there were only two new lines and a couple of line extensions. For Rocky Patel, this might have been the […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Illusione Cigars
If there is one thing we have seen from Illusione Cigars over the years is that owner Dion Giolito will not release a new line for the sake of releasing a new line. In particular, when he does something to be considered a major launch, it is usually quieter the following year. Such was the […]