2024-04-25 04:03:17
To date, Switzerland is the third largest market for Cuban cigars in the world. That is currently changing, because the Cuban export monopoly “Habanos” is now cutting off supplies to Switzerland. The reason is the return considerations of the new owners in Asia. Hard times are coming for Swiss “aficionados”.
When it comes to offering handcrafted premium cigars from Cuba, Switzerland has so far been something of a lucky island.
The availability of Cuban cigars has been insufficient in this country in recent years. The background for this was and is production bottlenecks as a result of the Covid pandemic and due to storms in Cuba as well as the generally desolate economic situation in the country.
Emigration from Cuba
In recent years, around two million Cubans (up from 11 million in 2019) have left the island, including many workers in the cigar industry.
Production capacity for hand-rolled Havanas is currently around 60 million pieces, around a quarter lower than in 2019.
Cohiba, Trinidad, Partagas
Still: While the retailers’ shelves elsewhere are completely empty, Switzerland has so far received a relatively generous allocation of the sought-following cigars from Cohiba, Trinidad, Partagas, etc.
The Swiss market was valued by Cubans because of their high purchasing power and the strong cigar culture with many saloons.
That is changing now.
“Cut the deliveries”
As the Swiss trade magazine “Cigar” just reportedHabanos, the global marketing and distribution monopoly for Cuban cigars, will “cut” its shipments.
“Several markets” will be affected by the new policy, including “Switzerland”. It is regarding countries “whose sales structures are not 100 percent” under the control of the Cubans.
The Swiss importer “Intertabak”
In Switzerland, Habanos must share the fruits of its labor with the Villiger and Lévy families, who together own 50 percent of the exclusive importer Intertabak (the other half of Intertabak belongs to Habanos).
The board of “Intertabak” consists of the now 93-year-old tobacco founder Heinrich Villiger, Louis-Charles Lévy as representatives of the trade dynasty in Geneva and two representatives of the Cuban side.
Reduction by 40 percent
Research by finews.ch in dealer circles shows that “Habanos” from Swiss Intertabak has shown a reduction of around 40 per cent. The decision is irreversible and can only be averted by changing the ownership structure of the importer “Intertabak”.
Similar cuts are expected for the markets in Germany, Austria and Poland, where Heinrich Villiger and his company “Fifth Avenue” (like “Intertabak” in Switzerland, a joint venture with “Habanos”) are also exclusive importers. And in Great Britain, where “Habanos” shares distribution with “Hunters & Frankau”, a tobacco retailer with over 230 years of tradition.
Handwritten by the new co-owners
Spain and France are not affected by the shortage, where “Habanos” are already skimming off all added value all the way to the point of sale.
The new policy shows the handwriting of the new co-owners of “Habanos”: In 2020, the Hong Kong investment company “Allied Cigar Corporation” bought a 50 percent stake in “Habanos” from the British tobacco multinational “Imperial Tobacco”. transaction worth US$1.44 billion, as trade magazine Cigar Journal reported at the time reported.
The real owner of “Allied Cigar Corporation” is believed to be a conglomerate of Chinese investors, led by the Chinese-born gambling entrepreneur Chen Zhi (Suncity Group Holdings), which has also held Cambodian citizenship since 2014.
Before this takeover, Habanos’ business decisions had a strong Latin American influence, that is, with a great understanding of established personal relationships.
Empty humidors in sight
Entrepreneurs such as Heinrich Villiger, Louis-Charles Lévy and Samuel Menzies (“Casa del Habano” in Zurich) helped the Cubans for decades to establish the commercialization of their cigars in Switzerland. Menzi and Villiger received the “Hombre del Habano” award from Fidel Castro in person. This was at a time when Cubans were still orphans when it came to marketing and distribution.
But unlike a good Havana cigar that gets better with age, gratitude has an expiration date.
Cigar lovers between Geneva and Lugano are the ones who suffer the most from this. The retailers’ humidors will be emptied. And prices will rise once more.
“Intertabak” wanted to do so at the request of finews.ch neither confirm nor comment on the deficiency.
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