Helping a local B&M

Vision

Hey guys. I am posting this to get some ideas on what a small(er) local B&M should carry. 4 Humidors and a 20 foot wall for shelving. They carry the norm.... RP, Monte, Punch, Acid, ETC.. They pick up, time to time a box of Jamie Garcia, AB, LFD... but no more then 2-3 boxes of different blends. Their local cliental is the $8-$12 average spender. I am looking to get your opinion on what YOU would add to this store if you could add 3 boxes to SELL. This is not the type of store that is going to blow thru OpusX, Four Kicks, or Liga (UnderCrown would sell).
The best part of this is they buy from CCOM. A win win for all. Shes is a great person trying to keep the hobby going in here area.

I hope this doesnt step on any toes here.

*Petey*

La Gloria cubana, is always a great midrange brand that seems to do well in most parkets.

If we're picking 3-4 specific lines. I'm going with LGC Original (Sumatra), The Obelisco, Series N, and Series R Sumatra. All excellent smokes that should appease some folks and not break the bank of the B&M.

Another B&M Staple that I didn't see you mention is AVO. Having a few of the original AVO lines would bring a top shelf feel to without the top shelf price tag, and again would appeal to the masses.

Hope this is what your looking for.

danielzreyes

Hmmm. I'd say Padron.

Lee.mcglynn

Padrons!!!! Even the 64's in the exclusivo size go a liitle under $12. When ever I hit my B&M I always hit the af and padron section first

catfishbluezz

You'll never sell a Liga or padron if you never carry it... My suggestion, go small batch. Curivari, viaje, tat, etc... They sell in that range, and create a unique selection. Padron's regular line is also cheap and a good way to get someone in to the more expensive lines.

Gray4lines

Padrons + 5 I love walking into a humidor and seeing a good selection of the brown labels, and a couple higher ends. Also, is Oliva standard there? They have some solid smokes for a great price.

Edit: sorry, that's only 2. And to be specific I love padron maduros, the Churchill's and londres. As for the Olivas, its gotta be the V. For a third, I would love to pick up some brickhouse. Those are just a good go to for me, and I think very affordable.

0patience

I went thru this with our local B&M. He seems to be doing ok with it.
He rewards me quite well (see my humidor. LOL!)
Understand, this is a very small list of what sells well in the local B&M here.

Of course the obligatory brands.
Any of the Torano line, especially the 1916 sell well.
Any of the CAO lines, especially the flavours lines for newbs and the America line.
5 vegas
A. Fuente
Jaime Garcia
Alec Bradley lines
Baccarat (I know, but they can sell for $3.95 and sell like crazy)
Cusano (they sell well for what ever reason)
La Gloria (just about all their lines sell well)
Rocky Patel
Padron
Camancho
Nub (I don't know why, but they sell fast)
Padilla (Miami's seem to sell the quickest)
Tats (Havana IV nobels seem to be hot sellers)
Flor de Oliva (these sell well)
AVO
Oliva (The G, O and V series sell well)
Casa Magna sell well

I also agree that some small batches of some of the higher dollar stuff would be a good idea.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth. Absolutely nothing. LOL!

pbchevo

CAO
LA Perla Habana
Diesel
Padron
ashton
Padilla
Perdomo
Don Pepin
MOW
601
R&J
La Gloria Cubana
ep carillo
San lotano
san cristobal

kuzi16

LFD

they are loved by so many that they WILL sell on the regular.

catfishbluezz

Actually....tell them to get the biggest ring gauges they can find regardless of brand. Then tell them to stash a box or two of good smokes and they will succeed

catfishbluezz

Oh....rocky and Gurkha have good markup too

Vision

Thanks guys. I am going to show them this thread this week. I just want her to hear it from actuall smokers.

mmccartneydc

I would suggest San Lotano for sure because my B&M doesn't carry it. In fact, it doesn't have many high end sticks but they have great prices on the mid level cigars.

lonewolf2011

I would add tatuaje and illusione.

catfishbluezz

Vision:

Thanks guys. I am going to show them this thread this week. I just want her to hear it from actuall smokers.

Actual smokers and actual consumers are two different things. It's funny how our tastes here, are VERY different from what the market is demanding.

0patience

catfishbluezz:

Vision:

Thanks guys. I am going to show them this thread this week. I just want her to hear it from actuall smokers.

Actual smokers and actual consumers are two different things. It's funny how our tastes here, are VERY different from what the market is demanding.

Exactly. Remember that half of the consumers of most B&Ms are people who have never tried cigars, new people to cigars or those people who dabble in cigars once in a while and like things like acids, flavours and the like.
And a whole lot of those people are "visual" buyers. Meaning they buy what is visually appealing.

mmccartneydc

Another thing is that it is very important that the proprietor needs to be knowledgeable about cigars too. I know that seems a little obvious, but my B&M guy only smokes pipes. I'm sure his pipe tobacco selection is amazing, but he just buys what his clients tell him is good. Occasionally, its a score, but a lot of the best brands are missing. Plus, he will say this cigar or that cigar is good, but unless they smoke themselves, it is really hard to trust them.

catfishbluezz

0patience:

catfishbluezz:

Vision:

Thanks guys. I am going to show them this thread this week. I just want her to hear it from actuall smokers.

Actual smokers and actual consumers are two different things. It's funny how our tastes here, are VERY different from what the market is demanding.

Exactly. Remember that half of the consumers of most B&Ms are people who have never tried cigars, new people to cigars or those people who dabble in cigars once in a while and like things like acids, flavours and the like.
And a whole lot of those people are "visual" buyers. Meaning they buy what is visually appealing.

That's why I think it takes someone engaged in the industry and what is going on in teh small batch world to achieve a good shop. The shops that have the hidden gems are the best.

0patience

mmccartneydc:

Another thing is that it is very important that the proprietor needs to be knowledgeable about cigars too. I know that seems a little obvious, but my B&M guy only smokes pipes. I'm sure his pipe tobacco selection is amazing, but he just buys what his clients tell him is good. Occasionally, its a score, but a lot of the best brands are missing. Plus, he will say this cigar or that cigar is good, but unless they smoke themselves, it is really hard to trust them.

To add, a good B&M owner will listen to his "regulars" and look for the "deals".
The owner here just got a box of AF Queen Bs. He said he got them, because one of his regulars asked about them and he found a box at a reasonable price and he could sell them for cheap (under $6).
It's been a week and half the box is gone. He realizes that he won't make a lot per cigar, but in volume. He expects to get more of the queen b in, but unless he gets the same deal, may mean a little bit more money.

His workers are allowed to sample the cigars to see how some cigars taste and all.
His realization of this means he sells a lot and his customers get decent cigars at a decent price.
Unfortunately, it also means that a good box of cigars at a decent price isn't gonna last long there. LOL!

Lasabar

My local B&M that I frequent has two things, fair prices and a staff that is quiet UNTIL you ask them a question. If you just browse, they ask you ONCE if you need help... but if you ask a question, they POUR out their knowledge and suggestions... Always makes me buy more.

SleevePlz

As many of you know, I have several really good B&M's in my area. There is one that is rather new and is more of a hookah lounge than a cigar lounge. They have a walk-in humidor with a decent selection, but the owner obviously opened the place to cater to the younger hookah crowd. After stopping in a few times, the owner asked me the same thing as the original poster. What else should he carry? Sadly, I had to literally spell out Illusione (he hadn't even heard of it). I got the impression that the cigar rep pretty much told him what to carry and for the size of the humidor, he did a pretty good job mixing in popular stuff with some boutique stuff. What I focused on were cigars that I would buy. The last thing I wanted to do is tell him to get a bunch of cigars that I wouldn't even buy. So I gave him a list of my favorite brands.

Diamondog

601 series, specifically the blue
Ashton VSG
Cain
Alec Bradley
E.P Carrillo
Padilla
My Father

Lasabar

Also, and this is a pure marketing thing, but whatever the heck is in Cigar Aficionado's magazine (Like the top 25 of last year) is what he should try to stock up on as well.
I find that there are three general groups of people that buy cigars.
1. The guy who knows his stuff. Him, you want all the brands everyone here is suggesting, those are the good sticks that are also usually affordable
2. You have the guy who is tentative to smoke a cigar for it's power or doesn't want it to be too harsh (You have your Macanudos for him for taste and recognizability
3. You have the guy who thinks of a cigar as a right of passage or a status thing and he wants to buy some "really nice sticks" for him and the boys, or while he's on vacation (This is where you whip out the top 25 for cigar aficionado and he will eat it up for EVERYONE knows of that magazine and he can't wait to tell his buddies that they are smoking the #1 cigar in the world!)

This method may not be the best for cigar smokers in general, but I would assume it would be the best way to make profit on ALL types of smokers that come in once a lifetime, once a year and once a week.

Vision

Again, Thank you all for taking the time to post. I would still love to hear what YOU guys want to see in a B&M. What brands do you oo forward to seeing and buying. THANKS!

0patience

What do I like to see?
I like to see the cigars I like that are normally carried
Torano, CAO, Tats, Jaime Garcia, Fuente, Padron, Comancho, Oliva, Rocky Patel, LFD, 5 Vegas and Casa Magna
These are the cigars I could see buying on a regular basis.
Then I'd like to see a variety of the brands that seem to be up and coming and .
Tats, Alec Bradley, MOW, My Father, Ave Maria, Sosa, Illusione (because of cost, don't see as a hot seller), Room 101, Diamond Crown, Cain and similar.

Rob1110

Is this Cigars R Us in Danvers? I used to give Frank all kinds of brands to carry when he was there. I'm the reason those guys carry 5 vegas, Diesel and at least one or two more lines.

Ken_Light

They buy from ccom? Ramon Bueso, MoW, Diesel. Get the internet guys in there and make them comfortable. I'm still uncomfortable walking into a B&M humidor because I feel like I know so little about the blends there. When the guy asks me what I usually smoke, I stammer to figure out what to tell him. I don't like saying I'm a primarily internet buyer. Guys, at least around here, that own B&M's sort of shut down when you tell them that. I get it, but come on, I came in didn't I?

catfishbluezz

Ken Light:

They buy from ccom? Ramon Bueso, MoW, Diesel. Get the internet guys in there and make them comfortable. I'm still uncomfortable walking into a B&M humidor because I feel like I know so little about the blends there. When the guy asks me what I usually smoke, I stammer to figure out what to tell him. I don't like saying I'm a primarily internet buyer. Guys, at least around here, that own B&M's sort of shut down when you tell them that. I get it, but come on, I came in didn't I?

It's the owners that understand this and tweak their selection accordingly that do well IMO. Even still, I see guys selling Padron's and Opus for $50 and moron's that have no clue what they are doing buy them... Happened this weekend...and the custy was floored at my collection (which is nothing compared to most of you guys) and I tossed him a MF and a tat. Alot of people spend money...just to say they did.

I have no problem telling owners that, and if they have a problem with it...then I don't buy from them. My favorite shop the owner strives to carry small batch stuff, hides the good stuff for the real smokers, and let's everyone else buy the rest. He always has the CA top rated smokes for the folks that only read CA. He knows he can't compete with the internet, and he knows I won't find Viaje on Ccom...and his tat's are priced about the smae as everyone else, along with Viaje, etc... Is everything else on CA rape status? Yup...but those buyers are not true smokers anyways.

I have no problem paying a little more at a great shop that provides a great atmosphere and cool events.

0patience

catfishbluezz:

My favorite shop the owner strives to carry small batch stuff, hides the good stuff for the real smokers, and let's everyone else buy the rest.

It must be something a lot of shop owners do. I sometimes get funny looks from customers when I dig into the hiding spots to see what they have this week.

bigharpoon

If I were coming up with suggestions for a local B&M to expand on their inventory I'd suggest:

Arturo Fuente (they would probably need an AF account and carry their entire line-up to do this)
LFD (very easy to suggest these to people and know they are great cigars)
Perdomo (also great cigars at very reasonable prices)
CA top rankings (with a nice little sign advertising it as so)
Oliva V and V maduro (I see lots of people smoking these)

When I walk into a B&M for a cigar I know I'm going to spend more than if I bought it on my own. Part of that extra expense is warranted by the atmosphere of the B&M itself because I'm going to smoke the cigar there. The selection, the people, the ventilation, the whole scene. If it's not that cool I'm not likely to go back.

I'm also a pretty knowledgeable buyer and I'm not going to spend $12 on a Padilla Miami because I can get them so much cheaper here. I'm looking for brands that are price protected and aren't really that much cheaper on-line. I have no problem getting most of my LFD's or Perdomos in a shop and B&M's are pretty much where I get all my Fuente.