Noticable Curiosity

[OLS]

I would say that we are in another boom in one respect. I can't speak for anyone here, but I THINK
that what happened now not-so-recently, in Chicago, scared a lot of people back to the B&Ms. This
might lead to a bit of a boom as people who were poised to grow these great big collections of havanas
are forced by fear and intimidation and a lack of vendor support to fall back on the old standbys.

Couple that with the fact that even the people who were never in the market for havanas are all of a sudden
burning up the forums with requests for lists of "cheaper cigars that are good", increasing the business
of the Holt's, JRs and eek Thompson's. By design this increases the number of cigars sold by the BIG players
as they sell these generally cheaper 'cuban-branded' smokes by the big players.

Then add to that the previously discussed strategies of the boutique guys, who seem to realize that
their time in the game might be short, so they maximize the cash flow NOW with these must-have limited
editions. To me it even creates two distinct types of cigar stores. You have the old guard who are bound
by tradition or contract to offer ALL of the brands from the big players, who are also increasing their lines
and need for shelf space. Then you have the mavericks who will not be dictated to by Altadis who
can still have a kick a55 store by offering all of the boutiques that are more in demand and snubbing the
Altadis stuff altogether. But even though smoking laws are drying up the real estate that's smoke-friendly,
people still want to smoke and will find someplace to do it. I think on balance, we can be considered
in a mini-boom, constrained only by the crappy economy.

And you know how I know it?? Ask most retailers who will tell you the truth, and they will tell you demand
has slipped very little in 15 years, but everything lined up against smokers has increased tenfold.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by OLS

I would say that we are in another boom in one respect. I can't speak for anyone here, but I THINK
that what happened now not-so-recently, in Chicago, scared a lot of people back to the B&Ms. This
might lead to a bit of a boom as people who were poised to grow these great big collections of havanas
are forced by fear and intimidation and a lack of vendor support to fall back on the old standbys.

Couple that with the fact that even the people who were never in the market for havanas are all of a sudden
burning up the forums with requests for lists of "cheaper cigars that are good", increasing the business
of the Holt's, JRs and eek Thompson's. By design this increases the number of cigars sold by the BIG players
as they sell these generally cheaper 'cuban-branded' smokes by the big players.

Then add to that the previously discussed strategies of the boutique guys, who seem to realize that
their time in the game might be short, so they maximize the cash flow NOW with these must-have limited
editions. To me it even creates two distinct types of cigar stores. You have the old guard who are bound
by tradition or contract to offer ALL of the brands from the big players, who are also increasing their lines
and need for shelf space. Then you have the mavericks who will not be dictated to by Altadis who
can still have a kick a55 store by offering all of the boutiques that are more in demand and snubbing the
Altadis stuff altogether. But even though smoking laws are drying up the real estate that's smoke-friendly,
people still want to smoke and will find someplace to do it. I think on balance, we can be considered
in a mini-boom, constrained only by the crappy economy.

And you know how I know it?? Ask most retailers who will tell you the truth, and they will tell you demand
has slipped very little in 15 years.

Some interesting thoughts to ponder there. Thanks for the imput.

[markem]

I agree with the Rev regarding some of the traits of the expansion and contraction of the market for new cigar offerings. I've been smoking cigars since I was a junior in high school (and coincidentally simultaneously a freshman in college), which makes it late in '76 when I started.

It is possible that the current trend of more marcas and vitolas as well as the trend towards special releases is short term (few years), but it is also possible that it is here to stay. I am tending to believe that it (the trend of more marca and vitolas) is here to stay since the economy and product availability that we see today is substantially more global than in the 80s. The idea of a boutique cigar being able to pop up and be profitable for a few years and then disappear is a very real business model now, one that I don't think existed in the 80s. Certainly there was very little ability for there to be an "Internet buzz" (NSFNet buzz back then) in the 80s to drive the interest in marcas that come and go.

Now, I do believe that there will be a trend for cigar companies to come and go quite quickly but that there will continue to be relatively few players behind all this change. The idea of being in on the next great smoke seems to drive many in our hobby regardless as to whether or not the next great smoke is merely a rebanding or rerolled version of last year's hot stick.

I think I'll haul this topic to the cigar bar this afternoon for some conversation in between US Open banter.