Questions to ask Habanos s.a.

[El Presidente]

I am in Havana next week and have some dinner meetings with Habanos s.a friends.

Any specific questions you would like answered (if possible).

Point form them so I can cut/paste and print out.

[Tampa1257]

» I am in Havana next week and have some dinner meetings with Habanos s.a

» friends.

»

» Any specific questions you would like answered (if possible).

»

» Point form them so I can cut/paste and print out.

Are they going to follow Altadis's general direction of other marcas and create new vitolas for the new line?

Or are they going to duplicate other vitolas already being made?

Following Altadis's marketing direction, would they all be bigger ring cigars?

Now another issue to consider is what type of tobacco s being used for this Maduro wrapper?

Is it the old H2000 wrapper that was basically fireproof?

Now it is also widely known that the strains of tobacco must be changed about every 5-7 years to keep the tobacco from becoming resistant from disease such as Blue Mold and other crop killing diseases. So how long are they going to keep this new line going and when will it change to a new strain and what will the flavors change to then?

Whats next? A Sun Grown wrapper following Altadis's love affair of having different wrappers on the shelf?

[greenpimp]

--Is the blend the same for cigars that come in both dress and cabinet? (E.G. BBF) I still have not heard a definitive answer on this.

--Have there been any significant changes in production (curing, aging, storage, etc.) in recent years?

--Why have well-loved and regarded cigars such as the Partagas Lonsdale, RA Corona, and Punch SS#2 been discontinued, seemingly in favor of the ever-"new" vitolas and ELs and regional releases? At what point will they worry about cannibalization and confusion in the consumer?

--Do they really think, as I keep reading, that there is no price limit to Cuban cigars? There is a price limit to everything. Is that what they are trying to establish, and what dangers do they anticipate facing with continued price increases?

--Finally, what is the impetus of the Habanos trend towards huge and fat and dark cigars? Is it aimed, as it seems, towards the supposedly non-considered American market?

I would also like to add that I have had some exceptional regular production from the middle of '05, stronger and fuller of flavor. I hope the trend of improved quality continues to spread. All the way to Bolivar ;-) . Seriously. Please.

Thanks El P.

[El Presidente]

Holy Crap....this is a friendly dinner

The poor buggers propose releasing one (1) true Maduro wrapper cigar and they are persecuted If it is 5 year old wrapper then it will be one of 4-5 different strains grown at that time and a good chance of being H2000 unless a specific crop of wrapper was set aside. I will find out or at least ask the question so they can investigate :-)

Flavour will change year to year subject to the raw materials at hand. They would try to blend the same profile but that is no different to wine. My major concern is what filler they will use and how aged it will be.

Why Maduro? Easy Sex sells. They believe they need 3-4 new releases per year to keep things interesting (at the retailer level) while improving quality of existing lines. 2005 was better than 2004 which was better than 2003 which was better than 2002. You have to give them some credit. If they are somewhat capped to producing 160 M cigars, why not try to lift the mean price point by $1 through culling poor selling lines and introducing higher quality lines at the higher price point? I understand the consumer sentiment towards high quality low priced Habanos but Habanos s.a needs to find a balance. Keep in mine they could increase prices by 10% tomorrow, lose 30% of their clientelle and still make the same money.

(on a side note...you can charge a premium/margin price on a larger cigar far beyond the % increase in production cost over making a smaller cigar ie a half corona may cost say $1 to make whle a Robusto $1.35. Half Corona Sells for $5 while the Robusto $8. This is the main reason for releasing new cigars in larger formats. If new smaller cigars are going to be released you can bet your bottom dollar they will be premium releases such as the Trinidad Reyes of SCLH Oficios).

Why discontinue PSS2, HUSC etc etc....BECAUSE NO ONE BOUGHT THEM outside of the knowledgeable net communtiy. Some of these lines had miniscule sales numbers. Exactly how many of their regular line new releases have been duds? Cohiba Siglo VI? Partagas Serie P 2? R&J Short Churchill? Right now many of the Habanso s.a guys are fighting tooth and nail to revive some of the older lines such as Juan Lopez, Sancho Panza, Rafael Gonzalez because if sales do not improve there they will also be trimmed to Por Larranaga size.

For production changes they will freely admit changes to temperature and humidity control in their curing houses. In general they like it because they have tighter control on the process. I will be hard pressed to get details of changes to the fermentation process (higher or lower bale temps) because this is guarded by Cubatobacco (Govt controlled).

Now I can tell you that these guys do not want to lose one Habanos client. They want to improve the quality of their existing bread and butter lines because they know they need to. They also need to invest massive amounts of money in refurbishment of factories and other infrastructure. On top of this they need to make a return on investment in the $500 Million invested.

The Habanos s.a men are not saints. They are not infallible and make mistakes. However I would give them a 7 out of 10 pass mark for what they have achieved since the disasters of 1999/2000.

Will ask all the questions raised here....after they pick up the tab for dinner

[El Presidente]

just one more insight.

The majority of Habanos s.a employees are Cuban who have a great appreciation of the history of the brands and a love affair with the leaf. No disrespect to anyone but when people talk about Habanos s.a many people automatically assume Altadis inserts. This is not the case.

It pained the Cuban Habanos s.a men to see many of the discontinued lines go. In many cases they could not see why such great cigars such as RA 898 V and Punch Super Seleccion No 2 did not sell in quantities necessary to see them survive. There is to be a relaunch in the packaging of Rafael Gonzalez, Sancho Panza, Juan Lopez sometime late in 06 or 07 in order to re-invigorate sales and give them every chance.

They are also dealing with a situation where through legislative changes there are less and less store retailers worldwide and in many retailers less and less facings to carry the Habanos range. By sheer necessity the number of lines needed to be trimmed. I take exception with what was chosen to be trimmed ....but that is a story for another day :-)

[CigarZen]

Great info Rob! Thank you.

» .... 2005 was better than 2004 which was better than

» 2003 which was better than 2002. You have to give them some credit.

and Agreed! That doesn't mean the job is done, but it is better and for that respect is due, imho.

As far as questions, You may consider asking (depending on how chatty they're feeling) what the aim of the Crillio 2006? What properties is it showing?

Any thought given to reviving the traditional potent profiles using traditional corojo -- may be name it Linea Tradional and have a cigar or two from select marques. In keeping with the proir request, start with Bolivar.:-P :-P :-P

Thanks for offering to ask the Qs.

[Jimmy2]

H.U. Super Corona's please make a come back !!!

[greenpimp]

Thanks Rob. Very interesting and informative. Should've just asked you.:-P

I did add at the bottom of my list of questions that I have been extremely happy with recent production. I have been very pleased, for the most part, with the increased quality and I hope you pass that on.

I'm happier to pay a little more if what I'm buying is great.

[El Presidente]

I have requested a timeline on all tobacco strain plantings since 1998. If the information is made available it will be interesting reading ;-)

Ask as many questions as you like fella's. I will do a cut and paste and ask all of them for you.

[Colt45]

In light of some recent threads:

Would Habanos consider using aged tobacco, as a matter of course,

across the board in their regular line cigars?

Although this has been discussed in the past:

Is there any thought on a price structure that would keep Havanas "affordable"

to most, or are they definately shooting for Habanos as super luxury items

with a sky's the limit price tag?

Enjoy dinner!

[Tampa1257]

Why is it the current trend of Habanos S.A. to introduce large ring cigars?

Cigar connoisseurs that have been smoking for a long period of time trend toward cigars in the 38-46 range because those cigars have a depth of complexity and flavors not to be found in the larger formats because of too much filler (mostly Volado and tasteless).

Has the skill level of the rollers decreased to the point that Habanos S.A. is no longer able to craft these cigars without construction and draw issues?

Common practicability and utilization of available resources would believe that Habanos S.A. would be able to produce more cigars from the tobacco yield by rolling the thinner ring cigar, thereby increasing productivity and as well as increased shelf turns which would result in higher profitability for everyone from the retailer to the manufacturer.

[TR]

Can they bring back the Punch SS#2?;-)

[Vetteman]

» great cigars such as RA 898

» V and Punch Super Seleccion No 2 did not sell in quantities necessary to

» see them survive.

Maybe they should have slapped an EL band on them ;-)

[jgros001]

» Why is it the current trend of Habanos S.A. to introduce large ring

» cigars?

»

» Cigar connoisseurs that have been smoking for a long period of time trend

» toward cigars in the 38-46 range because those cigars have a depth of

» complexity and flavors not to be found in the larger formats because of

» too much filler (mostly Volado and tasteless).

»

» Has the skill level of the rollers decreased to the point that Habanos

» S.A. is no longer able to craft these cigars without construction and draw

» issues?

»

» Common practicability and utilization of available resources would believe

» that Habanos S.A. would be able to produce more cigars from the tobacco

» yield by rolling the thinner ring cigar, thereby increasing productivity

» and as well as increased shelf turns which would result in higher

» profitability for everyone from the retailer to the manufacturer.

Exactly, Cuba is the one place that you can still get smaller guaged cigars - the rest of the world is producing bigger and fatter cigars.

When are they going to produce a Partagas Corona Gorda that isn't an EL? Something I would love to see in the future.