Distributor Squeeze and Price Increases.

[El Presidente]

5 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Is there a risk of Chinese tobacco finding its' way into Cuban marcas?  

Undisclosed, I would say as much risk as Italian grape finding its way into Bordeaux wines. 

Cuban tobacco however into Chinese cigars? We can already buy Cuban leaf to use should we want to go down that road, but it is volado and of dubious quality. 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

And interestingly enough, the Vegas Robaina marca has not had a special release since 2014. How quaint!

Even though HSA is only hurting themselves! As if Hirochi cares if there's special production. The entire marca has his name. 

[VeguerosMAN]

54 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Even though HSA is only hurting themselves! As if Hirochi cares if there's special production. The entire marca has his name. 

I have never had a cigar by Hirochi. Is he a big player in the NC game?  Is he on the Padron and Fuente level? 

[LordAnubis]

Prices are nice and high and the buyers they want are holding steady. Pres has said many times before. We are not Habanos S.A.'s customer base. I’m happy for them to be honest. Working 1/4 as hard and making more money. A stroke of genius really. Hope they milk every last drop out of it.

[Fuzz]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:28 PM, Partyshrts said:

Excuse my ignorance. China is making Cigars? It doesn't surprise me. They have cheap labor and can reverse engineer anything.

"Chinese cigars are coming after both. They are well on their way and the lower to mid tier NC brands who have just grasped (or are near grasping) a foothold have the most to fear. 

If you have no cache, you will be swept aside in the tide."

 

On 5/28/2024 at 1:48 PM, El Presidente said:

Great Wall is China's largest domestic manufacturer. They started producing cigars in 1918. They are a monolith. 

20 years ago, I wouldn't pour Great Wall wine down the drain for fear of damaging my plumbing. However, now they are making really good wines. Like everything else made in China, if you are willing to invest the time and money, you can make some really impressive stuff.

[Li Bai]

7 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The entire marca has his name.

That's right but I guess they could make it disappear overnight, couldn't they?

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, Li Bai said:

That's right but I guess they could make it disappear overnight, couldn't they?

Again that would be only hurting themselves. They'd have leaf dedicated to those two cigars they'd have to reallocate. And technically the brand is dedicated to Alejandro who is a beloved legend. I just don't know how think they're punishing Hirochi with no special releases. I'm sure he cares more about where his next meal is coming from. 

Also if they kill the brand they'll have no legal claim to anything Robaina opening up Hirochi to even more opportunity. It's not going to happen. 

[Li Bai]

3 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Also if they kill the brand they'll have no legal claim to anything Robaina opening up Hirochi to even more opportunity. It's not going to happen.

I'm no expert in this field and tbh I don't care much about the internal workings of HSA and Tabacuba.

In my field, I've been working with China for two decades and I've come to learn that lots of things will remain opaque, no matter how curious I am, there's just no way to find out.

Still, thank you and all the other members for your input it is very interesting and you seem very well informed. About VR I guess they can just let the brand slowly die.

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Li Bai said:

About VR I guess they can just let the brand slowly die.

I don't see them killing it. As I said they have to keep it active or Hirochi can take the whole thing. They seem to just want to be like teenage girls and give Hirochi the cold shoulder with no special production not realizing he couldn't care less. 

I wouldn't care if it weren't one of the few brands I like and would look forward to trying any special releases. 

[ha_banos]

9 hours ago, JohnS said:

And interestingly enough, the Vegas Robaina marca has not had a special release since 2014. How quaint!

And 5 of the last 6 special releases were 'short' or 'petit'! Poor Hirochi.

[Partyshrts]

I almost exclusively buy from FOH now but I periodically check stock from grey market vendors I've used in the past. There has been next to nothing available for the last month or two. With distributors cutting 40% of stock how can the grey market continue to exist? I hope FOH can weather the storm. 

[Vortigan]

All I'll say is that I'm glad now that my buying rate far outweighed my smoking rate for the time that it did because I'm pretty much priced out of the market at this point and barring an unlikely reversal of the recent years' trend, I've bought my last box of CC, sadly. Even the NC stuff that I like is damn near impossible to get into The UK without all the bells and sirens going off. Yes, I know that some of it is available here but frankly, I wouldn't pay the $674 for a box of Oliva V DR even if I had the requisite disposable income to do so, which I don't. But them's the breaks, so to speak.