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Old 09-16-2020, 06:15 AM   #1
jeepdad
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Sources Speculate Famous Smoke Shop Expected to be Sold to Oliva Cigars

The highest volume independent online cigar company is, yet again, expected to be sold to a cigar manufacturer as direct to consumer sales continue in the cigar industry.

Famous Smoke Shop was formed in 1939 by David and Rose Zaretsky in New York City. In the year 2000, after increased taxes in NY, Arthur Zaretsky, son of the founders of the company and then owner, moved its operations to Pennsylvania. Famous Smoke Shop was a U.S. family owned company and operated for 79 years, but things are about to change.

After the sale of online cigar giant J. R. Cigar in 2003 to British owned multinational manufacturer of cigarettes, tobacco and cigars Imperial Tobacco, including Altadis who make Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, H. Upmann among others and following the sale of Cigars International to Scandinavian Tobacco Group, a Denmark publicly listed Company on NASDAQ, with brands including Macanudo, Cohiba, CAO, Punch among others, Famous Smoke Shop is now the largest independently owned and operated U.S based online cigar company.

J. Cortes, a foreign owned company based in Belgium, produces in excess of 500 million machine made cigars per year along with roll your own cigarette tobacco, has been in the tobacco industry for almost 100 years but not in the premium cigar industry. In 2016, J. Cortes entered the premium industry by purchasing family owned, U.S based Oliva Cigars with brands including Oliva and Nub.

Multiple unnamed sources speculate J. Cortes has formed a company to acquire Famous Smoke Shop to now become the 5th premium cigar manufacturer to sell direct to consumer, in competition against the retailers and online companies that sell their brands. Other manufacturers that already sell direct to consumer include Altadis, General, Ashton/Fuente, Davidoff and next expected will be Oliva Cigars, but this acquisition has a little hook to it.

Keith Meier founded and built Cigars International in 1996. In 2007, Meier sold what was the largest online cigar company to Swedish Match, now Scandinavian Tobacco Group, who owns and operates General Cigar. Multiple unnamed sources speculate Meier will be an investor and owner along with J. Cortes, owner of Oliva Cigar, in this joint-partnership, and Meier could, according to speculation take over the day to day operations of Famous Cigars immediately following the purchase.

When completed, this is expected to ignite an online price war, and who knows if Famous Smoke Shop will soon get into the retail cigar shop business much like General Cigar has done with Cigar International and Altadis did with Casa Montecristo? Only time will tell.
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Old 09-16-2020, 06:40 AM   #2
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Wow! Interesting!

Famous Smoke Shop is who got me into premium cigars beyond beyond an occasional B&M purchase. I answered a small (about 1 sq. Inch) ad in the Wall Street Journal for a cigar catalog circa 1983. It was for FSS and I began buying from them by mail order. Eventually I started getting catalogs from many the big retailers like JR, Holts, Finck and eventually CI. Mail order became online and the rest is history. I may need to check out FSS again.
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Old 09-16-2020, 08:25 AM   #3
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This is interesting. It could be great for us, but as usual, it's the local shops that may suffer the most, unable to compete in an economy of scale.

I get Famous catalogs, and their prices are pretty much competitive with the rest of the big guns. Their house line "Inferno" is already made by Oliva.
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Old 09-16-2020, 09:55 AM   #4
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The investment partnership I belong to has made a lot of money on Swedish Match. At last count, the partnership ows almost 2 million shares. SM is constantly buying back its own stock, making the partnership one of the major stakeholders in the company. They also own La Gloria Cubana.
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Old 09-16-2020, 10:31 AM   #5
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So, how do you think this will affect the pricing of cigars? Does this mean these online sellers will start cigar wars to see who can out-do eachother. But no matter what I will still support my local B&M.
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Old 09-16-2020, 02:33 PM   #6
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For those of you who are unaware, the promo code RCIGAR17 obtains a 17% discount on purchases at Famous.

(Won't work on certain items - Padron, Davidoff, and other high end items. Works for just about everything else.)
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Old 09-17-2020, 03:45 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diplomatico View Post
For those of you who are unaware, the promo code RCIGAR17 obtains a 17% discount on purchases at Famous.

(Won't work on certain items - Padron, Davidoff, and other high end items. Works for just about everything else.)
Thanks!
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Old 11-24-2020, 01:32 PM   #8
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Very interesting. Its sad that I just drive by JR's now when it was a main stop on trips south in the past.
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Old 11-28-2020, 06:47 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CSMAnderson View Post
So, how do you think this will affect the pricing of cigars? Does this mean these online sellers will start cigar wars to see who can out-do eachother. But no matter what I will still support my local B&M.
George, between inflation and cigar/tobacco taxes, there is only so much they can cut prices.

David, you're not the only person I have spoken with who had the same JR experience. Jason talks of it here and there, as well.
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Old 12-01-2020, 03:30 PM   #10
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Very interesting. Its sad that I just drive by JR's now when it was a main stop on trips south in the past.

Never made it there, but I do know one thing. I am getting sick and tired of getting almost TEN emails/day from JR.


Why not just do ONE email a day of a worthwhile deal?



Oh wait. That's right. Lew retired.
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