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Last post 6 years ago by Pudding Mittens. 7 replies replies.
Xikar got bought
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Pudding Mittens Offline
#1 Posted: Sat, Feb 3 2018, 4:18 PM EST
Joined: 08-15-2016
Posts: 1,291
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For those who haven't heard yet:

XIKAR Acquired by Quality Importers
halfwheel.com/xikar-acquired-quality-importers/250507

The obviously-biggest question: are the new owners going to kill the "lifetime warranty", which would ALMOST CERTAINLY include killing it for everything already out there, that was SOLD WITH a "lifetime warranty"?

I have more Xikar products than I can count. I would be VERY PISSED if all these products, which I bought BECAUSE they have a lifetime warranty, suddenly became non-warrantied.

It's breach of promise, it's bait-and-switch, but legally they CAN do it. If I remember right, another major cigar accessory manufacturer (which rhymes with Bolibri) had a lifetime warranty, got bought out, and bye-bye it went.

Thinking like the people who just bought Xikar, it'd be VERY VERY tempting to end the lifetime warranty... I hope they're smart enough to realize it'd destroy most of the brand's reputation and reason for existence, and would tank sales into the dirt, opening the way for another accessory maker to offer a similarly-awesome warranty and crush the new Xikar in the marketplace.

Let's hope the new owners are smart and not evil, I guess!
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Salmoneye Offline
#2 Posted: Sat, Feb 3 2018, 5:27 PM EST
Joined: 01-18-2011
Posts: 163
I own nothing made/branded by them...
SteveS Offline
#3 Posted: Sun, Feb 4 2018, 12:12 AM EST
Joined: 01-13-2002
Posts: 8,751
well, there goes the neighborhood and that's disappointing ... XIKAR has been a class outfit ...
Herfosaurus Offline
#4 Posted: Mon, Feb 5 2018, 12:09 AM EST
Joined: 08-29-2012
Posts: 89
Quality Importers is the company behind a lot of Chinese made crap, e.g. most of the cheap humidors you see on eBay or in B-and-M's. They also own other brands such as Palio. Looks like they're buying Xikar as a "luxury" brand. Interesting acquisition, as QI is not a very big outfit.

Big question within the industry is probably, "what happens to Xikar's sales force?" QI was catalog-only to B-and-M's, but Xikar has reps. Whether or not the lifetime warranty stays or goes will likely be tied to whether or not QI retains the Xikar sales model.
Pudding Mittens Offline
#5 Posted: Mon, Feb 5 2018, 3:24 PM EST
Joined: 08-15-2016
Posts: 1,291
Herfosaurus wrote:
Whether or not the lifetime warranty stays or goes will likely be tied to whether or not QI retains the Xikar sales model.


If I remember right, there was a mention of Xikar being the first company Q.I. acquired that had a large salesforce, and also there was a mention of Xikar's sales reps possibly beginning to sell non-Xikar Q.I. products.

This all hints at a strategy of "let's keep Xikar's salesforce and use it to sell all our stuff".

They also explicitly said they're making Xikar their top-end brand, with Palio etc. as levels below Xikar.

This all seems to suggest that the lifetime warranty will stay in place. This would make me happy, as I have a large number of Xikar products.

This is all just trying to read tea leaves though. We'll wait and see.
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Ewok126 Offline
#6 Posted: Mon, Feb 19 2018, 11:50 PM EST
Joined: 06-25-2017
Posts: 4,356
I spoke with a gentleman at Xikar today about this. He was actually answering my email when I had called. He informed me that they are not getting rid of the lifetime warranty due to the fact it is one of the top major selling points of Xikar. After a good 30 minute chat he volunteered info that the merger is to expand both Xikar and Q.I's product reach to the masses and pretty much nothing more. His words not mine.
Pudding Mittens Offline
#7 Posted: Wed, Feb 21 2018, 5:53 PM EST
Joined: 08-15-2016
Posts: 1,291
Ewok126 wrote:
I spoke with a gentleman at Xikar today about this. He was actually answering my email when I had called. He informed me that they are not getting rid of the lifetime warranty due to the fact it is one of the top major selling points of Xikar. After a good 30 minute chat he volunteered info that the merger is to expand both Xikar and Q.I's product reach to the masses and pretty much nothing more. His words not mine.

Ewok126, thanks so much for the info!
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