Puros Y Vino Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 File this under. "I wish there were Cuban cigars more expensive than Cohiba" Davidoff CEO says Cuba return may happen. Davidoff CEO says ‘Cuba return’ may happen… By DOUG NEWHOUSE | Sunday, 13 September 2015 16:17 Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard smallOettinger Davidoff CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard says the company is ready to work with the Cuban cigar industry again when the conditions are right, but only to add its current offer – not replace it. In an exclusive interview, he confirmed to TRBusiness last month that he could see Davidoff back in Cuba, although this still depends on a lot of factors. “Basically we are ready to go back whenever that opportunity arises and this is obviously closely linked to the lifting of the trade embargo – and as we know, President Obama cannot do that himself. That is a Congressional decision, which we know in these times, can take a long time. “I am in touch with the Cubans and they are very interested in getting us back and we are interested, but not to replace what we have – but to add a sort of a certain pillar of taste and product portfolio.” Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard Cuba or no Cuba, the international duty free channel accounts for 14% of Oettinger Davidoff’s sales and is ‘incredibly important’ from both a revenue standpoint and image building, according to CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard. He added that ’it’s clear that Cuba is still the origin of cigars in consumers’ minds’ and Davidoff would obviously like to be part of that again, but if it is to happen, then he adds that there would have to be very clear conditions underpinning the company’s return. “We need to be in charge of the quality in the growing of the tobacco. It was really a quality issue when the divorce happened,” said Kristian Hoejsgaard. “They actually burned all 350,000 Cuban cigars in the square in Basle in protest. The good news now is that the people who were involved in that big dispute on our side and on their side are no longer around, so I think it is smoothing out.” davidoff tin Having said that he points to the irony that just as the basis for a better relationship appears to beckon on the horizon, the Cuban tobacco industry has actually had ‘very bad harvests in the last two cycles’. As such, that obviously means that there is not a lot of tobacco in the pipeline anyway Hoejsgaard told TRBusiness that he is nevertheless ‘confident’ that Davidoff will return to Cuba, although how long it may take is anyone’s guess: “Is it going to be three years, five years or ten years…? I don’t know, but the train has left the station with the opening of US and Cuban embassies for sure.” For the full interview with Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, see the September 2015 edition of TRBusiness magazine. 2
... Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Interesting short article, thank you for sharing!
btp1979 Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Makes sense. Quality control will be (is) a huge hurdle. We are lucky to have a partner who checks every box before sending out!
Fumadoro Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Interesting! I've always thought of the cuban cigar industry as putting a huge emphasis on loyalty, so I'm surprised that they would take Davidoff back after having such a public and dramatic split.
Elvis Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks for sharing this article! Not sure that Davidoff can capture lighting in a bottle again, however, it does sound promising.
luv2fly Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Never had Cuban Davidoff but maybe some day. Would like to see them produced again. I agree it will be a long time coming especially if they are waiting for the end of the embargo. Of course, they could go back sooner if they were willing to wait on the US market. I think the rest of the world would be a big enough market.
Bennettjohnl Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 Never had Cuban Davidoff but maybe some day. Would like to see them produced again. I agree it will be a long time coming especially if they are waiting for the end of the embargo. Of course, they could go back sooner if they were willing to wait on the US market. I think the rest of the world would be a big enough market. My best chance of smoking a Cuban Davidoff would be a future produced cigar. Agree that's it's likely down the road a bit, lots of details to iron out. 1
dangolf18 Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 My best chance of smoking a Cuban Davidoff would be a future produced cigar. Agree that's it's likely down the road a bit, lots of details to iron out. Last time I was in London (2012), the Davidoff shop had quite a few No.1 and No.3. Expect to spend $150-$200 though. If Davidoff produced cuban cigars again, I'd expect prices to be about 2x that of Cohiba prices. Given that I don't smoke that much anymore, I'd probably be a buyer lol. 1
El Presidente Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 I certainly am all for independents to work side by side with HSA/Tabacuba to breath some life into Cuban Marques slowly disappearing. new Cuban Davidoffs don't really have much appeal to me. New Diplomatico Robusto or a release of No 1/4/5/ certainly do. just a fresh set of eyes, new enthusiasm, expansion of distribution channels, deep pockets ready to invest. 3
skalls Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 A diplomaticos robusto sounds like a great Idea. I like the #2 but why have a Marca with only one vitola in it? Makes no sense
Smallclub Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 “We need to be in charge of the quality in the growing of the tobacco. ...” said Kristian Hoejsgaard. Yeah I'm sure Tabacuba will be very happy to have the Davidoff QC inspectors after us…
dvickery Posted September 17, 2015 Posted September 17, 2015 Last time I was in London (2012), the Davidoff shop had quite a few No.1 and No.3. Expect to spend $150-$200 though. If Davidoff produced cuban cigars again, I'd expect prices to be about 2x that of Cohiba prices. Given that I don't smoke that much anymore, I'd probably be a buyer lol. Inflation = when I was at the davidoff shop on St James in '08 ... 1000's were (about) 50$ each ( bought a small handful ) ... Don't remember the price of #1's singles but a box of 10 was (about) 700$ (didn't buy) . Derrek
Colt45 Posted September 17, 2015 Posted September 17, 2015 I certainly am all for independents to work side by side with HSA/Tabacuba to breath some life into Cuban Marques slowly disappearing. new Cuban Davidoffs don't really have much appeal to me. New Diplomatico Robusto or a release of No 1/4/5/ certainly do. just a fresh set of eyes, new enthusiasm, expansion of distribution channels, deep pockets ready to invest. Purely for conversation, why would an Indie want get into bed with, invest in, and pick up after the current monopoly? Let Habanos sleep in their bed. Let the "new blood" do their thing unshackled. May the best cigars win. 1
cigcars Posted September 17, 2015 Posted September 17, 2015 One part of me says, "Joy! Rapture!!!" The other part of me says, "Yeah, but how high is the price gonna be and how much aged quality will be in effect with these new Davidoff Cuban smokes?" At any rate, with what some of us are willing to pay for discontinued Dunhill and Davidoff Habanas, I would think price-wise, we should be somewhere between "okay" and "oh, well gotta save a few pennies". But then, Behikes finally went down in price 1
Puros Y Vino Posted September 17, 2015 Author Posted September 17, 2015 One part of me says, "Joy! Rapture!!!" The other part of me says, "Yeah, but how high is the price gonna be and how much aged quality will be in effect with these new Davidoff Cuban smokes?" At any rate, with what some of us are willing to pay for discontinued Dunhill and Davidoff Habanas, I would think price-wise, we should be somewhere between "okay" and "oh, well gotta save a few pennies". But then, Behikes finally went down in price Davidoff already makes some stupidly expensive new NC cigars. The $500+ Oro Blanco. Or some of the limited exclusive lines like the 100th Geneva. I'd imagine a resurrected Cuban tobacco line from them would be their new top tier. Can you imagine the prices they'd command should they be able to legitimately use the Chateau names, Dom P, etc? I'm surprised they haven't started making the move already. They could easily service the Chinese, European and Middle East markets with a Cuban line. 2
dvickery Posted September 17, 2015 Posted September 17, 2015 couldnt be top tier ... Everyone knows Dominican and Nicaraguan cigars are better than Cubans . Derrek 1
canadianbeaver Posted September 18, 2015 Posted September 18, 2015 Makes sense. A Davidoff store anywhere in the world could sell both kinds and you can smoke them right there. The perfect tourist smoke. I was so fortunate to receive a Cuban Davidoff from a forum mate for my 50th birthday. It was wonderful. Money will not be an issue for this brand and funny enough, the bands on each are identical.
Coloniales Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 I don't see whats stopping them now(Bad harvests aside), they don't have to sell a Cuban line in the USA. Just sell it outside of Cuba. Hans Kristian also told me last December that he still has some Cubans in stock, hehee... Keith.
Smallclub Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 I don't see whats stopping them now(Bad harvests aside), The impossibility to have a say in terms of quality control, I suppose...
PigFish Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 Davidoff is a cigar maker... not a government sponsored entity! Frankly they know what dealing with Cube-Coms is like and they don't likely trust them! Most ventures require some trust as well as a contract. If the trust does not exist, a contract is worthless; in a communist country anyway! Owning real property and having control over their invested assets is what it would take most rational people to do business in Cuba. My gut feeling here is that many folks in the cigar industry believe Cuban tobacco to be the best in the world. Cuban cigars are still great tasting despite the mismanagement of Tabacuba by party member executives. I believe it to be pretty obvious that the greatness of the 'Cuban cigar' is a matter of great tobacco and otherwise I consider it a shear accident achieved by Tabacuba's substandard management. MHO..! If Tabacuba is talking to Davidoff, they are simply fishing for money again. The H SA money has likely run out and they need another sucker! -Piggy 1
dangolf18 Posted September 19, 2015 Posted September 19, 2015 I'm sure Habanos S.A. will make sure Davidoff pays a hefty price to have access to the best tobaccos. And let's just say the best tobacco goes into the Cohiba and Trinidad brands. Would Habanos even be willing to give any of that up In the first place?
SCgarman Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Davidoff is a cigar maker... not a government sponsored entity! Frankly they know what dealing with Cube-Coms is like and they don't likely trust them! Most ventures require some trust as well as a contract. If the trust does not exist, a contract is worthless; in a communist country anyway! Owning real property and having control over their invested assets is what it would take most rational people to do business in Cuba. My gut feeling here is that many folks in the cigar industry believe Cuban tobacco to be the best in the world. Cuban cigars are still great tasting despite the mismanagement of Tabacuba by party member executives. I believe it to be pretty obvious that the greatness of the 'Cuban cigar' is a matter of great tobacco and otherwise I consider it a shear accident achieved by Tabacuba's substandard management. MHO..! If Tabacuba is talking to Davidoff, they are simply fishing for money again. The H SA money has likely run out and they need another sucker! -Piggy No doubt the Castro brothers see this "warming" of diplomatic relations with the US as simply a chance to make $$$$$$$. And they want financial reparations for all lost revenue due to the embargo, totally comical!
Smallclub Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 No doubt the Castro brothers see this "warming" of diplomatic relations with the US as simply a chance to make $$$$$$$. While the americans see it a chance to improve the living conditions of the Cubans, of course 2
Jeremy Festa Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 This scenario, so everyone can understand, would be like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement. Not in 1995 or 2003. But now. Sent from my iPhone
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