How much trouble is Habanos in?: Dortmund: The other tobacco-growing regions thank Cuba

[El Presidente]

 

“Thank you, Cuba!” The Germans – who host the world’s largest tobacco trade fair in Dortmund (North Rhine-Westphalia) every year – have a name for the dark delights of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others: schadenfreude. Whether they be from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras or Costa Rica, all the producers we met at the 2022 Intertabac trade show last week welcomed the shortage of Cuban cigars and described it as a great opportunity to promote and develop their own products – but also as a challenge, because they are all facing logistical problems."

CONTINUED

[helix]

"There are two possible scenarios for rival regions too. In the aisles of the fair, the big question for producers revolved around what happens when Cuban production and deliveries are back on track; will the “New World” have won over aficionados for good, or will cigar lovers return to the Habanos they know and love."

Certainly a future risk of a permanently diminished market share . NC's have been improving over time.

[asudevil08]

NC's have impressed me more over the past two years than in the 25+ years I've been smoking.  They are quality sticks and if Habanos cared, they would be nervous.  

[NSXCIGAR]

Cuba has been operating with a certain level of hubris for a while. They do have competition despite what they may think. One would imagine Gemstone would be reminding them of that but then again there is a reason Imperial jumped ship. 

Inferior QC, higher prices, inability to supply their markets, inability to release cigars on time, overly long production hiatuses for certain models all take their toll. 

[Wookie]

Part of the problem with NCs is that they are constantly introducing new blends, searching for nirvana. CCs have established flavor profiles that are trustworthy. NCs  haven’t yet developed a consistency except for Davidoff, casdagli, Olivia, etc. But no question Ncs are gaining on this. Even Fuentes Opus lines have diminished over time. And the established CC flavor profiles are dependable, identifiable (with a band 😂), whereas Ncs don’t quite exhibit that dependability/depth of quality yet, with the exception of the above and some others. The good thing about Ncs is that they are usually rolled properly. IMHO. 

[JohnS]

We've nearly all learnt to adapt to the current Habanos crisis with some form of Non-Cuban dependability. The Nudies line is proof enough of that. And I've personally come to appreciate and admire other reputable Non-Cuban products this year to compliment my Habanos rotation.

Yes, in the current climate, Habanos S.A. should be worried.

[Fugu]

Cuba will always be the benchmark. They may lose market share, but they’ll always sell what they got. No hay ningún problema.

It’s chomping at the bit by NC makers. Trying to elbow their way. Understandable. And let’s face it, they’re nervous too. It’s not as if they haven’t got any problems either (see report). At the moment, in particular those products aiming at rivalling CCs are mostly thin on the ground as well.

[Duxnutz]

3 hours ago, Fugu said:

Cuba will always be the benchmark. They may lose market share, but they’ll always sell what they got. No hay ningún problema.

It’s chomping at the bit by NC makers. Trying to elbow their way. Understandable. And let’s face it, they’re nervous too. It’s not as if they haven’t got any problems either (see report). At the moment, in particular those products aiming at rivalling CCs are mostly thin on the ground as well.

Sadly true. I buy a single in every lounge I visit to smoke my Cubans in. They seem to always miss the mark.

[Cairo]

6 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

I buy a single in every lounge I visit to smoke my Cubans in. They seem to always miss the mark.

There is such a variety of NC smokes that it takes a while to figure out what suits your individual palate.

In the past CC smokers didn't waste their time worrying about it.

With the higher prices and limited availability of CCs they are starting to make the effort.

[westg]

16 hours ago, Fugu said:

Cuba will always be the benchmark. They may lose market share, but they’ll always sell what they got. No hay ningún problema.

It’s chomping at the bit by NC makers. Trying to elbow their way. Understandable. And let’s face it, they’re nervous too. It’s not as if they haven’t got any problems either (see report). At the moment, in particular those products aiming at rivalling CCs are mostly thin on the ground as well.

👍