[dave]

It is tough to do retail AND wholesale on a large scale. That's true of many (most?) commodities. Especially one that feels a need to continue support specialized brick and mortars. Add in the complexities of primarily off shore production, importation, .... One aspect that makes cigar sales particularly confusing ...that I don't understand the impacts and dynamics, is the complex ownership relationships of wholesalers and retailers....STC, Swedish Match, Meier&Dutch, Altadus, General....all names that represent or support multiple entities....an intertwined business....not even getting into production deals between 'makers', growers, blenders, factories...it sure appears to be so complicated that wide scale direct sales seems unlikely any time soon.