The Blenders Notes

[PigFish]

On 7/29/2017 at 1:19 PM, 99call said:

Personally I would like (and this sounds pretty communist)

For there to be only a Minuto, Corona Gorda, Dalia, and Double corona in every line. And for each house to concentrate intensely on what they were about. For there to be either new brands, or resurected old brands. Things like Guantanemera should be culled, as they have failed. PL Piedra should be just the Cazadore, (but handmade). I think the growing regions of the island should be I bit more divided up by the brands, so you could get a bit more of an Appetation Controlle feel to the product. 

I have never been to Havana, and know little about the operation, and I realise may who have on this forum, will just see is as ridiculous pie in the sky. but wouldn't it me nice if you were a CC novice, passing through airport, and:

- You could buy a 5er of some good looking Minutos, (expecting very little) they are a short one dimensional blast of something very distinct, and very good

You then buy the a couple of singles of the rest of the line, and you realise the:

- Corona Gorda is your robust, dependable front line exponent of the brand, satisfying, but not overwhelming

- Dalia is the clean aromatic, transitional cigar, providing the full panorama of all the brand has to offer

- Double Corona, is the indulgent, rambling, sometimes overpowering companion, the showstopper. 

Now, if you repeat this across 30 distinctly different brands, you have avery cigar you'll ever need...........Surely?

Here is where I disagree with you. Again, centralized planning is not the key to getting the best of any market situation.

Letting the market decide does not mean cancellations (necessarily). It means it only when you have made vast management errors in the past, producing tens of thousands of cigars you needed to discount to be rid of. There has always been a market for the Partagas Coronas... just not as large as the RASS!

You see there is room for both, the key is in professionally managing inventory and production. However as the market has moved to these lousy annual cigars, that is all that Tabacuba wants to make. Market majority or even plurality is not entirety. What this has done is caused Tabacuba to give up market share. This is a mistake.

I do believe the market will burn out of these annual products eventually. Having cancelled many traditional cigars, Tabacuba is now behind the eight ball once more as a more nimble competitor will move to capture a new changing market segment sooner. There was always room to keep me happy, and I speak for at least a few I know that think like I do. Tabacuba has gambled on me and largely lost me. I will only buy cigars that I like and have liked historically. As those dwindle, my interest in new Habanos dwindles with them!

I am prime to be picked up by another maker. If they made cigar that liked better than my old Habanos, I would be buying them. As no one does, I largely buy nothing!

-Piggy

[Fugu]

On 29/07/2017 at 9:27 PM, 99call said:

RE and LE agreed are different,  but one thing they have in common, is if you criticise them as a customer, the maker can effectively just say "yeah!!! that one didn't quite work out" where as is you say" These R&J Churchills have been awful for the last 15yrs" it's much harder for them to defend themselves. 

The situation of a bad regular production cigar, created bad energy between the maker, and the dealer.  I.e is was sat in their store collecting dust.

Now, the dealer has 100's of pre-release reserves of four box purchases, (before anyone has even tasted one of the cigars). This is perfect scenario for the maker and the dealer, but a bad result for the customer. They have to rush to buy the cigars, they now have to age them, themselves, and after all this, they might be crap. Admittedly if they can look after them for 10yrs the secondary market is going to pay them a pretty penny (even if the cigar get trolled for the 10 interim).

You are dead-set right with that - well, you essentially grasped Cubatabaco/HSA's current business philosophy.

I'll put it more neutral, nonjudgmental - but surely, the increasing amount of special editions over the regular portfolio gives them more freedom in production, marketing and finally in selling. That is fact. Much to the regret of some of us old geezers.