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December
2003
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TRENDS AND TRENDSETTERS IN SPECIALTY TOBACCO RETAILING
Emerson Fittipaldi Opens Fittipaldi Cigar Club in Miami
Miami - Legendary former race car driver and current co-owner of a Champ Car Series team Emerson Fittipaldi has launched the Fittipaldi Cigar Club at the Porcão restaurant in Miami.
The club offers cigar lovers "a place to get together to sample top cigar brands," said Fittipaldi, including the former Formula One World Champion's own line, Fittipaldi Cigars, which are produced by Augusto Reyes in the Dominican Republic.
"True cigar lovers can come to Porcão and find a pleasant place to enjoy our products," said Fittipaldi. "It is a place where club members, as well as non-members who want to visit us, can share their knowledge of fine tobacco, have a good time, and even make business with their associates."
Fittipaldi Cigar Club offers an annual membership. Members receive invitations to exclusive samplings and events, discounts on Club merchandise, and a chance to have a personal locker for their cigars.
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NEW & NOTABLE
Scott Dreicer and James Morrow, owners of Harbor Cigars in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., have opened Aromas cigars & wine bar in Jacksonville, Fla. The 3,400 sq. ft. store features cigars, domestic and imported wines and beer, specialty coffees, and desserts. The emporium also features a private cigar club, Club Robusto, appointed with TVs, a private conference room, and private humidified cigar lockers. Member-only events will include wine and cigar tastings, store discounts, and private cigar selections.
Bright Leaf Tobacconists, Wichita, Kansas, has opened a new free-standing 21,000 sq. foot store and will close its two stores located inside area malls in early January. The new location opened in late August. Owners Lori and Chuck Born bought the two stores, which were Tinder Box locations at the time, in 1992 and renamed them Bright Leaf. Borns cited decreasing mall traffic and higher overhead for the move. Bright Leaf sells cigars, pipe tobacco, pipes, and specialized board games - the biggest growth area for the store. The new location carries about 75 items for chess players.
Davidoff of Geneva, which is set to open a second Manhattan location at Columbus Circle in February 2004, has opened two new retail stores in Las Vegas, both located at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The new stores join three previously existing Davidoff shops in Las Vegas - two at The Venetian, and one at the MGM Grand.
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BITS & PIECES
Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, California tobacco retailers must obtain a one-time $100 license in order to sell legally taxed cigarettes or other tobacco products. Tobacco distributors and wholesalers must pay an annual fee of $1,000 for a tobacco license. All companies must keep invoice records for tobacco purchases for four years. Startup funding for the program is being supplied by a one-time $.01 per cigarette pack fee on tobacco manufacturers and importers, based on 2001 sales.
Cigar-friendly restaurants in Connecticut held last-ever cigar dinners in the weeks prior to the state's new restaurant smoking ban, which went into effect Oct. 1.
A new law designed to keep youths from ordering tobacco products over the Internet has adversely affected mail-order cigar sales in Maine. The law, which took affect Sept. 13, makes it illegal for anyone except licensed tobacco retailers to sell tobacco products to consumers here. Thompson Cigar in Tampa dropped Maine from its direct-order business the same day. United Parcel Service stopped consumer tobacco deliveries in the state because it would have had to "modify its procedures for one product," but it still delivers to licensed retailers in the state.
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SMOKESHOP - December, 2003
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