Rear vision mirror: It was only 5 years ago

[El Presidente]

2018 was only 5 years ago.  

It feels like 50 years ago

 

 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/cuba-announces-new-cigar-launches-for-2018#:~:text=The final major launches for,in 10-count wooden boxes.

Habanos also announced financial results for 2017 during the conference. Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez, the commercial vice president for Habanos, reported that the Cuban company had reached $500 million in sales worldwide, an increase of 12 percent from 2016. He said the global market for cigars exceeded 450 million units in 2017, and that Habanos, in countries where it sells its cigars, accounts for 70 percent of the units sold, and 80 percent of the value. A small footnote in the video presentations of the firm’s statistics noted that it does not sell cigars in the world’s largest cigar market, the United States.

Cinta Gonzalez also reported that the top-five markets for Habanos products are Spain, France, China, Germany and Cuba, in that order. Overall, he added, Europe accounts for 54 percent of Habanos sales, with the Americas coming in second at 17 percent, China at 15 percent, and Africa and the Middle East at 14 percent.

He said that Cohiba is the company’s biggest selling brand in terms of value, accounting for 23 percent of revenue, with Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo nearly identical at 17 percent. On a unit basis, Montecristo remains the best selling brand.

Habanos continues to focus on its retail outlets around the world. There were 144 Casas del Habanos globally last year, 930 Habanos Specialists, 110 Habanos Terraces, 1,900 Habanos Points and 13 Cohiba Atmospheres, according to Cintra Gonzalez.

The question was posed whether or not President Trump’s action to limit the number of legal American tourists in late-2017 had any noticeable impact on the company’s sales. The two officials said they didn’t really know, but they did note that Cuba had increased sales at Cuban retail shops, which the company counts as an export figure because virtually all of the cigars in those shops are sold to tourists. Habanos said 2017 sales within Cuba increased by more than 30 percent in 2017 when there was a huge influx of Americans traveling there.  

The two executives also said they expected 2018 to be another strong year, not just in Cuba, but around the world. They also added that the 2017–18 harvest has been excellent with good quantities of high-quality tobacco, a statistic that has been echoed by early reports from leading Cuban farmers interviewed by Cigar Aficionado.

[Low]

And just three short years later 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/china-becomes-no-1-market-for-cuban-cigars

[JY0]

Grateful that we were able to visit Cuba a couple of times before 2019. Those were the good old days for cigars.  Jorge, Alexandro/Alex, Reynaldo… $60 RAAS, $3 customs. We thought at the time that things were improving for the people.