One day as HSA CEO

[Hohenthal]

La Corona to specifically produce all existing and future short and long skinnies under a quality control management program.

Does that mean that La Corona already produces the best panetelas in terms of construction and blend consistency?

Hoyo Du Gourmet and PL Montecarlos and what else?

Or would that be for other reasons?

[nick17]

I WISH can we have a Coup De Tat of HSA and put rob in power! I love the plan and feel we rely should take this to HSA. and I don't like the price increase but hey i can live with it

[Diamondog]

Not that its not a good thing the RA Extra is joining reg production but I wonder how many people snapped up large quantities because it was thought to be a rare LE at some point...I know I grabbed 3 boxes...

[PigFish]

Piggy as CEO.

Imprison a Castro at first opportunity.

Stop concerning myself with "NOT" making cigars and concern myself with making cigars.

Use my 50% interest in distributorships to manage my inventory, not have control over it. Compel distributors to take part in marketing in their areas, and that includes "flooring" cigars to supply a line. Establish broad based support for retailers incentivsing the stocking of a broad range of products. If all you want is Cohibas, then you pay the top tier for them!

Allow the retailer to find a better fit of the product to market price. Increase prices on popular cigars (if it does not hurt overall production) and decline prices on less popular cigars.

Bulk package cigars to retailers that sell singles. Get them the singles sticks at the lowest price possible to assist them in selling singles.

Produce generic or branded tubos for the retailers use. Allow the retailer to sell any cigar he wants in either a generic or branded tubo, that he packages himself. Tubos should be a production cost item. A place should be provided for a retailer applied label indicating his shops name and address.

Establish strategies to attract the box cigar buyer and those interested in aging their own cigars again. Greatly reduce printing and boxing costs by utilizing marketing stickers applied to more uniform boxes with fillers and stop making so many different boxes! Box buyers like Cabs... Sell them cabs! Consider the elimination of the dress box altogether.

Control inventory. Initiate semi-annual sales for box, bulk cigar buyers. If box buyers wait for sales to buy in bulk, so be it! Sell the cigars every year... don't sit on them!

My overall goal would be to give choices and price those choices to market. I want to sell a cigar to everyone via an inclusive model, not an exclusive model. I would bring back machine made cigars for beginners and for those who cannot afford handmade cigars.

I would not kill the EL program! But i would run it differently. I would no longer date the product. They come out when they come out and they will be hyped by intelligent press releases. They will not be hurried by market dates and pressures that can't be met. They would carry a hand signed satisfaction card from the roller and all come off one rollers table, made the same day. They should be considered custom cigars production made and have a cost accordingly. Have 25 or so rollers make the entire lot. Special packaging can be made for each occasion.

I would not overproduce anything! I would not make everything a robusto as that could likely affect the overall robusto market. But if the market asks for more robustos... I would give it to them. The consistent box stratagy would allow a lot more flexabliity in packaging wereas only the label stickers would differ. I would make plenty of robustos because they are the trend today.

I would sell some Cuban leaf to non-Cuban makers. Why? Because no one would hype and sell Cuban tobacco better than someone who wants it badly enough to buy it for their own cigars!!! If it takes off for them, the natural trend would be to graduate to a Cuban puro! Let the competition bring up the cost of the cigar if the market bears it. Have him work for you and not against you. Get a piece of his business and have him advertise for you.

I would start the Habanos Custom House. La Case del Custom Habanso! I would allow a broader range of custom offerings to shops and retailers. House custom rolls should be a staple. The retailer knows what his customers want... Make it for him and let him sell what he wants special in this way. If he wants a house Montecristo double robusto... make it for him. He can put it in a generic tubo with his sticker and market it his own way. Retailers that make selling quotas and sell a broad range of products get the Custom house. You sell only Cohibas at the duty free... you miss out!

Those are some of my thoughts on the matter.

-Piggy

[Orion21]

Not that its not a good thing the RA Extra is joining reg production but I wonder how many people snapped up large quantities because it was thought to be a rare LE at some point...I know I grabbed 3 boxes...

This happened with the Mag 50 as well, but the regular production doesn't hold a hat to the EL from what I have heard. Thoughts?

[Diamondog]

This happened with the Mag 50 as well, but the regular production doesn't hold a hat to the EL from what I have heard. Thoughts?

I have been less than impressed with my remaining few from a cab I bought a few years ago.....won't be picking any up anytime soon...

[riazp]

I have been less than impressed with my remaining few from a cab I bought a few years ago.....won't be picking any up anytime soon...

Ditto, the regular production Mag 50s have been very underwhelming, I even had a couple of plugged cigars...how do you make a plugged 50 rg cigar???

[Puros Y Vino]

Ditto, the regular production Mag 50s have been very underwhelming, I even had a couple of plugged cigars...how do you make a plugged 50 rg cigar???

I'm a big fan of Mag 50's. Haven't had a dud. Yet. Already went through one 25 cab, going to let the other 25 take a nap before I dig in again. Never had the LE version though. I'm not crazy about LE's becoming regular production though. IF you're going to make something 'limited' keep it that way!

[gersonmorelli]

How about allowing three or four licensed distributors per country? This would discourage the non-sense mark-ups that some countries have by inducing competition and eventually reduce the so-called "privateers". Lower prices, higher increased, less incentives to smuggle, right? I think some serious work could be done in the supply chain of Habanos.

[Diamondog]

Didn't they also do this with HdM Epicure Especial?

[Orion21]

As HSA CEO I would:

1) Simplify the EL program. All EL production would be numbered like RE. If it's really EL, then make it EL with numbered boxes. 5,000, 10,000 I don't care, but if I am going to be $15+ a cigar I want to know it's truly limited. Reduce from 3 marcas to 2 per year.

2) Create a "Tobacco University" to teach people who want to be in the cigar world how to grow the best tobacco in the world. Similar to the wine programs here in the USA and France. Make tobacco education a profit center and then create apprentice opportunities on the farms and compensate the farmers accordingly.

3) End color matching of cigars and package the cigars based on the rollers and let the rollers sign their boxes. This would improve moral and pride in the work the rollers do in the factories. This is not dissimilar from how AMG engine builders sign the engine for Mercedes after a build. These are supposed to be the best cigars in the world, right?

4) Set 5% of production aside each year and create an "aged program" like they do with spirits. The regular production cigars use 2 yr aged leaf and the aged program consists of cigars rolled with 5 and 10 year aged leaf and sold at a premium. Eventually there would be a regular annual release of 5 & 10 year aged cigars in the form of "vintages." Since these cigars would most likely be sold to aficionados they could be rolled to please a smaller group. Long and skinny, vintage style re-releases etc. There would be no brand for this cigar, it would be known as "Habanos 2012 Vintage 5/10."

That's as creative as I can be with my limited knowledge of how Habanos works.

[cigcars]

Well - little ol' me wouldn't have much demand except:

BRING BACK THE LONSDALE (DALIA) SIZE IN Por Larranaga, Ramon Allones, and El Rey Del Mundos!!!

AND: Make strong brands STRONGER!!!

[cigcars]

Well - little ol' me wouldn't have much demand except:

BRING BACK THE LONSDALE (DALIA) SIZE IN Por Larranaga, Ramon Allones, and El Rey Del Mundos!!!

AND: Make strong brands STRONGER!!!

*Oh - also bring back Fonseca Invictos vitola

[cigarros]

As HSA CEO I would:

1) Simplify the EL program. All EL production would be numbered like RE. If it's really EL, then make it EL with numbered boxes. 5,000, 10,000 I don't care, but if I am going to be $15+ a cigar I want to know it's truly limited. Reduce from 3 marcas to 2 per year.

2) Create a "Tobacco University" to teach people who want to be in the cigar world how to grow the best tobacco in the world. Similar to the wine programs here in the USA and France. Make tobacco education a profit center and then create apprentice opportunities on the farms and compensate the farmers accordingly.

3) End color matching of cigars and package the cigars based on the rollers and let the rollers sign their boxes. This would improve moral and pride in the work the rollers do in the factories. This is not dissimilar from how AMG engine builders sign the engine for Mercedes after a build. These are supposed to be the best cigars in the world, right?

4) Set 5% of production aside each year and create an "aged program" like they do with spirits. The regular production cigars use 2 yr aged leaf and the aged program consists of cigars rolled with 5 and 10 year aged leaf and sold at a premium. Eventually there would be a regular annual release of 5 & 10 year aged cigars in the form of "vintages." Since these cigars would most likely be sold to aficionados they could be rolled to please a smaller group. Long and skinny, vintage style re-releases etc. There would be no brand for this cigar, it would be known as "Habanos 2012 Vintage 5/10."

That's as creative as I can be with my limited knowledge of how Habanos works.

Sign out under each items! I would add - every brand must have a brand manager. Person whose name will be associated with every brand. Who will be held personally responsibility for everything that happens with a brand.

[winelover]

Taking the rollers signing the boxes further, I'd do monthly cash prizes for the rollers putting out the very best quality to be independently assessed by quality inspection visitors. By the same token, extra training for those who are putting out sub-par sticks. Perhaps rollers league tables too.

I'd also reintroduce some of the old practices such as a person reading aloud from story books, remember the Count of Montecristo?

[CanuckSARTech]

Epic. Purely epic.

[Dbone]

Man I love reading this stuff, gets me excited with the possibilities. Really though I understand companies this size, take baby steps with their business. They have a difficult time just meeting their own EL schedule. But nonetheless, I love to read everyones dreams.

In a sidestep from most others, I'd just wish they could focus on their core value... making cigars. I could do without all the limited release, regional release, vintage stuff, and the host of other great wishes. I'd just demand a strong focus on making regular day to day cigars the best they could be. I want to buy 10 boxes of RASS and have each one represent the "Best in the world". Provide an increase portfolio of fat and big, to small and skinny for most brands. Do away with the sizzle and get back to work on the steak. As Rob says each month, there are a master-cases of absolute trash coming out of Cuba. That is what I'd vow to reduce or eliminate to my distributors and customers. No "come backs" from distributors or having my customers toss shitty cigars would make my job a hell of a lot easier.

[partifan]

One cigar a year per distributor Maximum 75000, cigars/minimum 25000. Must be from :

Cuaba

Diplomatico

LGC

Sancho Panza

Rey Del Mundo

Juan Lopez

Ramon Allones

Bolivar

Punch

Fonseca

Quintero

Por Larranaga

Trinidad

Vegas Robaina

***the distributors must be involved in the final blend over a week's selection. They are entitled to bring a team of 20 including distributors, top retailers, top clients. They are encouraged to work 2-3 years in advance of what they are seeking to select****

Please add SLR to that list. The SLR Pacificos might be my favorite cigar.

[partifan]

I'd ask for Corona Especiales sizes for SLR, Bolivar, Partagas, and Upmann. I'd cut a lot of chaff from RyJ, and stop the short, wide, petite, extra wide, duplex, petite lancero churchill craze and call the cigars by their actual vitola name. I'd make each marca have at least 4 vitolas - petite corona, churchill or DC, robusto or hermosas #4, and piramide or belicoso so each brand can display their blend in a few sizes.

I'd make more blends come in 10 count boxes so it is easier for people to smoke though the offerings and find their tastes. I'd make box samplers of a marca, so a box that would have say a Partagas Short, PSD4, PSP2, 898, Lusitania, and Presidente, or a box with a Boli PC, RC, CG, Inmensas, BF, so people can sample through the different vitolas to get a sense of what to buy.