May 2009 News

Florida: State Legislative Update

International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR)  

 Joint Committee Removes Cigar Tax Proposal from State Budget

While Good News for Some, Not Good for Other Tobacco Products

May 6, 2009--Following months of professional and grassroots lobbying, the joint House-Senate Committee working out the final details of the state's proposed budget has agreed to remove the punitive cigar tax from the proposal (SB 1840).

Originally, SB1840 proposed to tax large (including premium) cigars at $1 per ounce and little cigars at $1 per pack of 20. According to the Cigar Association of America, cigars were the only tobacco products to be removed from proposed tax increases.

The taxes on all other tobacco products will increase effective July 1. The full legislature will vote Friday morning on the conference agreement.

As detailed in a CAA memo to its membership, the conferees agreed to a $1 per pack surcharge on cigarettes and an additional surcharge of between 60% and 70% on other tobacco products (probably 60% which would bring the OTP tax rate up to 85%). There will be a surcharge on inventories of all tobacco products (except cigars) on July 1.

This surcharge is allowed to be paid in four equal installments on July 21, August 10, August 30 and September 9. A 5% administrative cost will be allowed against the inventory surcharge. The bill also includes restrictions on mail order, Internet and remote sales of all tobacco products except cigars.

Again, the legislature will vote on the conference agreement Friday morning.

Thank you to all of IPCPR's retailers and associate members, other manufacturers, the CAA and CRA for the efforts in working to see some relief for the tobacco industry in Florida.

International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR)

Chris McCalla

Legislative Director

Battle Royale heats-up between Famous Smoke Shop and Pete Johnson

Cigar store manager will fight Tatuaje cigars creator in June to settle score on Cigar Expo matter

Easton, PA 5/07/2009 09:00 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)

Cigar stores may sometimes have problems with their suppliers, but a verbal dispute between Famous Smoke Shop retail store manager Tim Carr and Pete (Tatuaje Cigars) Johnson is now headed for full-fledged fisticuffs. The two cigar men are scheduled to settle their differences on Friday, June 26th.

It all started on February 7th, 2009, when Pete Johnson appeared at his first Famous Smoke Shop in-store event.

"The store was filled to capacity and we were having a banner sales day," said Tim. "That's when I asked Pete to be one of the featured vendors at our Famous Cigar Expo in June, and he readily accepted."  

Several weeks later, Pete called Famous Smoke Shop's Humberto Gonzalez to tell him that he wouldn't be able to attend the Expo.

"When I pressed him as to why, Pete admitted that one of Famous' competitors 'persuaded' him not to participate," said Gonzalez. "I reminded Pete that he had a handshake agreement with Tim, and tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't budge. Then when I told Tim about the conversation, he was really teed-off that Pete hadn't called him personally."

After that, Tim made several unsuccessful attempts to call Pete.

"When I finally got through to him, the conversation was pretty heated," said Tim. "I told him he wasn't sticking to his word, like a man. That must have gotten his feathers pretty ruffled, because then he hung up on me."

At the end of March, Tim flew to Miami to meet with Christian Eiroa of Camacho Cigars. He told Christian about Pete backing out of the Expo and the argument, and Christian offered to support Tim in any way he could.

Soon, word of Tim's conversation with Christian got back to Pete, making him furious. The two men took their dispute public on Friday, May 1, by calling each other out over the airwaves during Famous Smoke Shop's weekly Happy Hour, which is broadcast live on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley. The result was that Famous Smoke Shop and Tatuaje Cigars would settle their differences in the ring with a boxing match that will take place at Famous Smoke Shop's headquarters in Easton, PA. on Friday, June 26th.

For more information visit www.cigarfight.com

Cigar Consumers to Cheer for Liquor Pairings at POS

Richmond, VA— Beginning in mid-May, consumers will toast General Cigar for demystifying the pairing of beer, wine and spirits with their favorite premium cigars. The company has developed shelf talkers that pair Honduran classics including Punch®, Hoyo de Monterrey® and Excalibur® with today’s most popular libations.

The shelf talkers will be placed at tobacconists and specialty wine and spirits shops that carry premium cigars. Each will feature product information on all of the brands within a given collection, along with a suggested wine, spirit and beer pairing for each. Shelf talkers come complete with a tear sheet that consumers can take away with them for future reference.

Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for Punch cigars comments, “We are pleased to offer premium cigar consumers a convenient solution to address their need for advice on pairing fine wines, spirits and beer with cigars. This is the first of several initiatives designed to support the positioning of our products within the context of relaxation and indulgence.”

General Cigar developed the cigar industry’s first pairing guide in 2005 and has since participated in countless pairing events across the U.S. with leading wine and spirits brands.

Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar produces Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Macanudo®, Partagas®, Cohiba®, La Gloria Cubana® and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

MACANUDO TO ROCK BAMAJAM ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL

Summer Concert to Feature 35 Top Recording Artists

Richmond, VA—On June 4-6, 2009, Macanudo®, America’s number-one-selling premium cigar will rock the BamaJam Music Festival which will feature live performances from 35 A-list recording acts including Kid Rock, Taylor Swift, Brooks and Dunn, The Black Crowes, and The Charlie Daniels Band. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the two-day festival.

The Macanudo brand will be well represented at BamaJam, with a dedicated sampling area and lounge that will sprawl across 1,600 square feet of the sponsor pavilion.  Consumers of legal smoking age will be welcomed into the cigar lounge and will be given samples of Macanudo Café cigars. Expressly for the event, the Macanudo sampling team will be sporting special tee shirts and hats, each bearing a rock-n-roll take on the iconic brand’s imagery.

Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for Macanudo notes, “For Macanudo, our participation in the BamaJam festival marks our first foray into sampling at music festivals. Sponsorship of this festival is ideal in that it supports the brand’s strategy of reaching consumers outside of traditional cigar-related venues. This will be the first of many exciting events that the Macanudo brand participates in throughout 2009 and beyond to drive the premium cigar category forward.”

Macanudo will also garner recognition throughout the weekend on the main stage video screen, while live copy about the brand will be read throughout the festival from all three performance stages. The brand is currently featured in the sponsorship pages on the BamaJam website.

About BamaJam

Created to cater to live music enthusiasts and adventurous thrill seekers, the BamaJam Music & Arts Festival is an outdoor recreation and entertainment megaplex held in 600 acres of open field in Enterprise, Alabama.  The two-day festival will host performances by award winning acts from the Classic Rock, Country and Alternative music genres.
 

About Macanudo Cigars

Since their introduction in 1968, Macanudo cigars have been a favorite among premium cigar connoisseurs. The brand continues to be the best selling premium cigar brand in the U.S. and also sells in more than 90 countries worldwide.  In addition to the base brand of Macanudo cigars, the brand also features these collections: Macanudo Maduro, Macanudo Robust, Macanudo Gold Label, Macanudo Vintage and Macanudo 1968.

Macanudo cigars are produced by General Cigar Co. Inc., which manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar produces Macanudo®, Partagas®, Cohiba®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana® and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

Note to Editors: A press release and event photographs will be issued post-event.

® Macanudo, Partagas, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, La Gloria Cubana and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.

PARTAGAS TO AWARD $10K FOR THE ULTIMATE CIGAR CAVE

Richmond, VA—Beginning at high noon on May 26, 2009, Partagas®, the legendary brand of handcrafted Dominican cigars will team up with pro football defensive tackle and network TV football analyst Tony Siragusa to find the cigar smoker who demonstrates the greatest need for a place of their own to enjoy the pleasure of a fine cigar and award him or her with $10,000 to create the ultimate Partagas Cigar Cave right in their home.   

In the contest’s website, Siragusa reaches out to cigar smokers who are relegated to enjoying their cigar in dark, dingy basements or forced out in the cold garage and makes them an offer they can’t refuse. In his call to entry, Siragusa connects with cigar smoking brethren by appealing to their need for their very own, in-home cigar cave.

Consumers of legal smoking age who purchase a special four-pack of best selling, full bodied Partagas Black Label cigars at cigar shops throughout the U.S. between May 26 and July 31, 2009 will receive a redemption code detailing how they can enter videos, photos and written descriptions of their domestic cigar smoking predicament to win the $10,000 prize allowing them to create a customized Partagas Cigar Cave for their home. Consumers can also enter by visiting www.partagascigarcave.com. The winner will be selected on or before August 21, 2009.

Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing, comments, “The trend toward in-home ‘caves’ where men can be men  continues to gain momentum. To connect with the lion’s share of cigar enthusiasts who are forced to enjoy the pleasure of a fine cigar in undesirable locations, we found it only fitting to tap Tony Siragusa to convince cigar smokers to share their stories with us.  For a cigar lover, having an in-home smoking lounge is the ultimate nirvana and we’re pleased to be able to provide it in the name of such a well-respected brand as Partagas.”

Consumers will be encouraged to vote on contest entries which will be posted on partagascigarcave.com.  General Cigar, parent company of Partagas, will harness social media by pushing Siragusa’s call to entry via online cigar communities, as well as YouTube, Facebook and a host of other video content sharing sites.