Prior to the start of the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, Cigar Coop selected Aganorsa Leaf as “The Company” to watch. Aganorsa Leaf is a company that says, “It all starts here; our leaf is what makes us unique. It is our strength.” These weren’t just words, it was something incorporated into the company’s strategy for […]
Feature Story: Analyzing the Launch of PCA and the Planned CigarCon Event
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 5 Comments CigarCon, Feature Storry, IPCPR 2019, PCA, Premium Cigar Association
It was the worst-kept secret heading into IPCPR 2019. Through a series of leaks, IPCPR’s plans to rebrand as the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) and launch a consumer component to the annual Convention and Trade Show known as CigarCon were made public. On Friday, June 28th, IPCPR Executive Director Scott Pearce formally announced these plans. […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Jas Sum Kral (JSK) Cigars
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR 2019, Jas Sum Kral, JSK
For Riste Ristevski and Jas Sum Kral (JSK) Cigars, this IPCPR Trade Show was the perfect example of turning what could have been a disastrous negative into a positive. One of JSK’s signature release was the JSK Nuggs, the CBD-infused cigar. Earlier this year, the JSK Nuggs Habano was released and there were plans […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: E.P. Carrillo
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 No Comments ElOsoFumarTakes, EPC, Feature Story, IPCPR 2019
For E.P. Carrillo coming into IPCPR, they were one company that had what no other company had – they were the current title holders of Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year award. At the same time, the company had something else exciting going on – celebrating ten years in business. To commemorate ten years, […]
IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Company
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR 2019, Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Company
Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Company came into the IPCPR with several new releases – and these releases continued to show company owner Oscar Valladares as a rising star in the cigar industry. One thing that Valladares has been expanding is his farming operation – which has grown considerably. With his own distribution warehouse, sales and […]
IPCPR 2019 Post Game Report: Day Four
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 2 Comments Feature Story, IPCPR, IPCPR 2019, IPCPR 2019 Post Game
Imagine a world of professional football where the Super Bowl® has had declining attendance and an announcement was made that next year, the name of the game was being changed to “Professional Football League Championship.” Basically, that is what Day Four of the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show felt like. Based on the foot traffic I […]
IPCPR 2019 Post Game Report: Day Three
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR, IPCPR 2019, IPCPR 2019 Post Game
There is no way to sugar coat this. The decision to hold IPCPR Trade Show a few days before July 4th was nothing short of a disaster. There was a time when I didn’t think it was worth discussing attendance numbers, but attendance has emerged as a huge story. Day Three of the IPCPR Trade […]
Feature Story: Tales from a Decade of IPCPR – 2012
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR, IPCPR 2012
For the tenth consecutive year, the Cigar Coop brand will be providing coverage of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show and Convention. We are proud to be a part of a very small group of media to say that. Today we continue our ten-part series where we look back our […]
Feature Story: Tales from a Decade of IPCPR – 2011
William Cooper Feature Story No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR, IPCPR 2011
For the tenth consecutive year, the Cigar Coop brand will be providing coverage of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show and Convention. We are proud to be a part of a very small group of media to say that. Today we continue our ten-part series where we look back our […]
IPCPR 2019 Post Game Report: Day Two
William Cooper Feature Story, IPCPR 2019 No Comments Feature Story, IPCPR, IPCPR 2019 Post Game
The talk of the lower attendance of 2019 and chatter about CigarCon 2020 continued into Day Two. For the most part, my feel was that foot traffic at the booths was the same as the day before. However Friday’s complacency about the CigarCon announcement took a very different turn on Day Two of a […]