This year, Quesada expects that the "avalanche of gold diggers won't be as great." He anticipates slight increases in cigar prices in 1998, with costs stabilizing by 1999.

Several major manufacturers present at the TAA meeting admit that "mistakes have been made in handling the growth" of the cigar industry, one that is five times larger today than it was in 1993. Retailers continue to take manufacturers to task for the availability of top brands at mass-market outlets. Although efforts are made to distribute premium brands only to stores with facilities for properly storing cigars, manufacturers note that they can't control where every cigar will ultimately be sold.

Other retailers called for more help by manufacturers in promoting brands at the store level. General Cigar defended its high-budget national advertising efforts for the launch of the pricey Cohiba cigar last year; the money it says, was worth the investment in establishing the brand's image. Retailers had questioned whether some of that budget might not have been better used to support co-op advertising programs - something that General notes it would like to offer. The company did say that it is reassessing its policies requiring Cohiba merchants to stock related Cohiba accessory lines, a practice which many retailers have objected to.

What's Ahead?
Survival of the many newer cigar brands will be a tremendous challenge this year, particularly those whose availability came at the expense of quality. With millions of new cigar consumers having entered the market over the past several years, General Cigar's Austin McNamara sees the traditional pattern of consumerism entering it's later stages, good news for quality brands which will likely command a greater portion of the premium segment.

"At first, new consumers are learning and experimenting with many brands," he explained. As cigar smokers begin to understand what they prefer, their cigar purchasing habits narrow down considerably, eventually settling into a single favorite brand. For established manufacturers, this process marks a renewed emphasis on quality.

"The consumer has been burned too many times," notes McNamara. "This is a brand-driven business. Consumers naturally want to avoid failure, and they will ultimately go with the trusted brand."

Wider availability of quality brands has in some cases been overshadowed by excess stock and less-than-stellar sales in the first two months of 1998, but clearly the mood among TAA retailers remains optimistic. Tobacco shops know the "easy money" days of the early cigar boom have given way to more challenging days ahead, with more competitive and legislative issues to contend with.

"Clouds don't bother me," Joel Sherman scoffed. "I intend to be here for a long time," a sentiment he challenged fellow members to share with the world through complementary "I'm a Tobacconist" valises, t-shirts, and notebooks. "Support your customers, support your manufacturers - stand up for yourself." That's certainly good advice for all retailers for the future.

Showing it Cares: Auction Draws TAA Community Together Although the TAA annual meeting has grown considerably in size over the years, attending members proved the group still exhibits the spirit of close friendship that marked its earlier days as a much smaller group of retailers. At the convention's final dinner dance, held during the event's last evening, the entire TAA community rallied its support for the Bruning family through a special fundraising auction. Fellow retailer and TAA's 1st vice president Bert Bruning, owner of the Palm Desert Tobacco & Gifts, was miles away from this year's convention, coping with a crushing personal crisis: Burt and his wife Jeanne's two-year-old daughter had been recently diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, and was in the midst of a two-month chemotherapy treatment. "Everything else in their lives has come to a halt while they deal with this," noted Ted Clark, TAA's president. The high-spirited live auction featured dozens of items - many one-of-a-kind - donated by TAA's associate members. Briar & Bean's Don Clark presided as auctioneer, with periodic relief supplied by Davidoff of Geneva's Al Remp. Lasting nearly two hours, the proceedings were augmented by a silent auction that lasted throughout the evening. In all, the TAA says over $50,000 was raised. All proceeds will be presented to Burt and Jeanne.