Have you noticed how in the last decade or so companies like INBEV have been buying up the beer brands? There are no really large American owned brewers anymore. Well take a look at the cigar industry and it is very definitely the same. Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the host of the very forum we are on, is one of the industry powerhouses involved in the consolidation. They are big time into cigars and pipe tobacco. They own General Cigar and recently purchased Alec Bradley. When a few companies own the manufacturing, wholesale distribution and retail sales of most of the cigars on the market it must begin to have some impact. Does it bring prices down? Possibly. Does it open the possibility of a dilution of uniqueness? Possibly. Does it mean that you are probably seeing a cigar made at one factory being sold under multiple names and prices under other brand names? Possibly. I am unsure if this consolidation is a good thing or a bad thing. It should lead to better prices, but does it? With too much consolidation you end up with monopolies which by definition eliminate competition and leads to higher prices. The first link below shows the largest cigar companies but some on the list are owned by others on the list. The second link shows a very large sale of assets. Do you folks see this consolidation as good or bad?




https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-cigar-companies/ 
https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/imperial-completes-1-44-billion-sale-of-premium-cigar-business 

Generally I see it as a good thing for the manufacturers and a bad thing for consumers. In many cases the consolidation can bring needed funds to smaller companies but it just as often leads to corporate control on all aspects of the operation including innovation. Almost every consolidation in the beverage and tobacco industries have stated that the operation of the companies being purchased will not change the management, quality or uniqueness of the products but that often is just the PR line.

Case in point:

InBev bought out one of my local fast growing craft beer breweries. They were able to bring clout with hops growers to get a steady supply of certain HTG hops that the craft guys were only able to obtain sporadically. Recent word is the corp now insists that certain hop growers will not be used due to price negotiations.

In the long term. I've rarely seen anything good for the end user, come from consolidating.

It’s been nothing but bad in the beer industry, in the tobacco industry I dunno. I only smoke like 4-6 brands now anyways….but I would say it’s a more unique industry as they face many more legal hurdles to exist than alcohol. So there’s the capacity to legally fight that’s necessary.

Also not a fan in general of what’s happened with this and whiskey.

No pun intended? 🤔

Does anyone really get started as an independant in the cigar busines with the intention of getting bought up by a big conglomerate? I feel like there is more of a rogue spirit amongst startup cigar makers that almost makes that a "last resort" option if the brand is good but other factors intervene. With the sucess of so many independant manufacturers (Padron, Tat, AF, MF, Illusione, etc.) there really is a strong roadmap to sucess withOUT being acquired by General/Altadis.

Think that was Alec Bradley's intention all along...

Yeah back when he made cigars and wasn’t “building a brand”.

One thing about cigars I know is that most of my cigar smoking friends are like me in that they burn the sticks that bring them the most pleasure. I only buy a name when the cigar that goes with the name is a smoke that is well made (taste, burn, build quality etc ) With beer they are very few brands that all of us have access to so our choices are limited to a degree. With cigars there are an endless number almost and all of us ( with the possible exception of buyers in states run by libtards) have nearly the access to purchase them all. We are all searching for that perfect cigar that we don’t need to get a second on the house to buy. Can’t tell you how many cigars in the last 30 years I have fallen in love with only to quit them when for any number of reasons quality and flavor dropped off and the price went up. Beer is mostly a supermarket or liquor store item and compared to cigars the choice is limited. If you live in NY state ( you have my sympathy) because they are working on a 95% excise tax last I heard or California (you REALLY have my sympathy) where they are working on passing a law that will not allow anyone born after 2007 to purchase cigars there EVER even if they live to be 95 then you have a problem. But for the rest of the sane World I’m guessing there will mostly always be a choice of fine cigars available at reasonable prices. We all have a price point we almost never crash through and because labor in the industry is relatively cheap I believe there will always be people with a dream who love cigars and will work to make a better one. Alan Rubin (As I recall the person who started Alec Bradley and named it after his sons) refused to give up when his love for cigars and tobacco and the process put him $60,000 in debt. I still have three boxes of Alec Bradley triangular cigars ( red, green and orange box depending on blend) that I bought back in 2005. They were good cigars pressed in a way I had never seen. Innovative enough that a lot of prople wanted to try them. There are several AB blends I like and as long as they continue with the quality and taste I won’t change but I continue to enjoy trying the new kids on the block as well as the Fuentes which never go on sale. If I only had the chiice in beer I have in cigars. Anybody remember when Chateau Fuentes came ten in a box and you could buy a box in your shopping mall cigar store for $27.50? That was pre cigar boom some 30 years ago. Still have half a box of those and the current ones are just as good. Gotta love cigars and the guys that take the risk to make not only a name for themselves in the industry. but their dream cigar

Cliff notes please.

How about just use the "enter" key!

it's busted

I read it out of spite.

While there are many cigar brands and many, many, many blends, there are not nearly so may places actually rolling cigars. We acknowledge the blenders but the blender is often a paid employee of the business man who owns the brand. The blenders and all the anonymous people who actually do the growing, processing, rolling and packaging are who make the cigar industry. I am sure that for most of them it is merely a job. Yes, a job one can take pride in doing good but still just a job. Those people's efforts are the same to make a dog turd as an Opus X. Alan Rubin put up the money and took the risk that he could contract with cigar manufacturers like Raices Cubana and develop a product that could be profitable.Alec Bradley, like Rocky Patel, has more blends than you can shake a stick at. Many years ago, during the boom, a very big name in the cigar industry told me and friends that in may cases one just went to a cigar factory who then allowed them to taste a variety of blends they had already developed. At that point the buyer put in an order and those cigars were then fitted with bands and boxes for that customer. The next customer may buy the same blend and have his band and box applied. How much actual uniqueness do you really think is out there on the mid and low priced cigar range under that scenario? A great deal of the cigar industry is merely a purveyor of a commodity. Many years ago my job required me to communicate with a manufacturing plant that made household appliances. That plant made appliances for so darn many brand names. I have a friend who was a truck driver. He told me he picked up a load of paint at a Dupont facility. The number of brands coming off the loading dock amazed him. I have to believe that out their in CIGARLAND we can find the exact same cigar with a $2 price tag and a $5 price tag. I once read that a major name in the industry said the worst thing that happened to cigar smokers and the best thing hat happened to cigar company owners was the start of Cigar Afficianado.

It's on the right side of the keyboard, just above the shift key... Even on a mobile device keyboard, it's there.

op title should be Paragraph Consolidation

😂

I once read that a major name in the industry said the worst thing that happened to cigar smokers and the best thing hat happened to cigar company owners was the start of Cigar Afficianado.

CamoRoon wrote:

You get what you pay for!

EXPERIENCE = What you get when you don't get what you paid for. Old saying "While some folks get less than what they paid for, nobody ever got more than what they paid for." Note to self: The enter button is required to deal with the short attention spans brought about by the pandemic lockdowns and YouTube Shorts.

It's there for a reason...[frypan]