Interview: Davidoff’s shopper-centric vision for cigars

[El Presidente]

Some inte=resting information here. 

 

https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/interview-davidoffs-shopper-centric-vision-for-cigars/

Interview: Davidoff’s shopper-centric vision for cigars

by Dermot Davitt[email protected]Source: ©The Moodie Davitt Report5 December 2023

 

“If you miss the cigar shopper you miss the bigger picture – that’s the key message.” So says Oettinger Davidoff Head Partner Markets & Duty Free EMEA and Americas Jean-Christophe Holley, assessing how the premium cigar manufacturer has been moving from a category to a shopper management approach with its travel retail partners.

It is doing so with the aid of research and insights into the power of cigar shoppers that can help reinforce the importance of the category in the shopper journey.

 

Over the past two years the brand owner has been communicating these findings to key partners around Cannes. These have underlined how Davidoff sees the potential for cigar sales to double in travel retail, the importance of both self-purchase and gifting, and how retailers can rethink their category strategies to grow their overall sales.

“As a pioneer in this channel for many years we want to do more, to go further than just introducing new products regularly,” says Holley.

“Cigar shoppers are the most valuable in the industry. They spend money, they contribute to growing basket sizes more than any other shopper group and so there is huge value for footfall and conversion and overall spend. That will continue. The appetite for travel is there, the appetite to spend is there in this category and if you drill down into the cigar shoppers they have a big basket size that goes across categories.”

He adds: “We take a higher perspective. You cannot just look at a humidor at an airport to assess the value of the category or the shopper – you have to take a wider view of all the other categories.”

 

 

Davidoff in attractive central space at Geneva Airport; below, a ‘Davidoff The Difference’ campaign at Frankfurt Airport

To do that requires a close understanding of the cigar shopper, who Holley notes is very different from the cigarette shopper.

“The cigar shoppers doesn’t need to buy their allowance each time they fly, rather they want to have an experience. And if the experience is right they will buy several items.”

The company notes that more than 21% of cigar purchases are for gifting, which represents a powerful finding. In addition, cigar-related cross-category purchases are +63% higher than any other category, Davidoff research shows.

“This shows what this niche category can do for other categories,” says Holley. “Cigars are over-performing other categories in the return to travel phase – retailers can see this within their tobacco portfolios.”

He says that the conversation is now changing with some partners who are rethinking where they place their humidors – not simply at the back of the store, or close to cigarettes. There are further opportunities beyond the main stores, including in gate and transit stores.

That understanding of what the cigar shopper brings is deepening, Holley says.

“Going beyond category you need to think in terms of full basket and total store solutions. Where should we put the category in front of consumers?

“The retailers are looking for some key elements. One is footfall – we know many cigar shoppers pass through airports. Then there is conversion, which is at a high level in this category. And then there is basket size. We offer footfall and basket size, now we need more retailers to work closely with us on conversion. And that is the key among all of these factors, as we offer the other two through our shoppers.”

He adds: “This is all about category and shopper management. We have insights that show the power of cigars, and now our plans resulting from these insights are moving into concrete action. We have a thread we want to follow over the coming years, backed by more insights, more action and more commercial dynamism in our approach.

“We are on a journey. We have worked with some retail partners already while some others are only just boarding the train. We are not necessarily going to convince everyone at once but we are a pioneer and we have time.

“We are in the tobacco niche but really we are a luxury lifestyle category. And we know that with the strategy around the shopper, there is a wider message and contribution we can make to the industry.” 

*This feature first appeared in Category Insight, a supplement to The Moodie Davitt Magazine for November. Click here to access that edition.

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[JoshD]

Interesting info on the 21% as gifts.........my last purchase was Davidoff Tubos, for gifts. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Ultimately, Davidoff needs to convince Dufry who are also Swiss. Dufry don't seem as keen on cigars or keeping walk-ins stocked.