The Cigar ‘Business’

THE recent Ignite Tradeshow made us think about the cigar industry as we know it in the UK – and that perhaps an explainer may be useful to some of you out there who keep an eye on cigar news because of your fascination with the leaf.

The cigar ‘business’ is unlike any other; the differences between consumers, retailers and manufacturers are a lot less defined. Many of us fall into several categories for a number of reasons.

We normally enter the cigar world through passion rather than leap into it with a desire to make money. Of course, there are those who make small fortunes out of cigars – but they are few and far between. Most are in it for the fun and friendship it offers – and some of these are lucky enough to derive a living from it.

The UK is a tiny, but interesting microcosm of the cigar industry as a whole. Because of its historic links as one of the world’s great cigar places, the UK – and most particularly, London – still holds a cache, even if its place in the pantheon is not as defined as it once was. Cuban cigars still hold sway in many places (again, particularly the affluent parts of the capital) yet so-called New World cigars (those made in other cigarmaking nations) are found here in ever-increasing numbers. New World manufacturers are keen to have their brands on display here, even if the return is nothing compared to what they can expect in, say, the United States.

Tradeshows such as Ignite, organised by the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists, or AITS, bring together the flotsam and jetsam of the cigar universe, attracting as they do distributors selling cigars and accessories; manufacturers helping their distributor sell their brands; and consumers – although strictly speaking, not supposed to be represented at the trade-only event – eagerly awaiting cigar news or the chance to be among the first to try new releases and see what new gadgetry is coming to the market before it is widely available in the shops.

For those of us involved in the business over the years, these events are not only a chance to assess what’s new, interesting, and potentially commercially interesting on the market. They are also a chance to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, have the chance to hear the inside track and on one or two occasions(!), let our hair down.

The cigar world is not like other commercial sectors; competitors tend to help each other out, and, in for the most part, seem to like and respect one another. This is another major reason why it’s pleasant and welcoming place to be when, from a commercial perspective, it may appear as not the most obvious place to make a killing.

Finally, it’s important to remember that while those in the industry have a business head on at times, they are virtually all, to a man or woman, lovers of the leaf too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be there. That is another reason why this small but passionate band of brothers and sisters punch above their weight and become more than just salesmen and women to their customers.

They become advisors and, hopefully, friends along the way, too.