Since May, cigar enthusiasts have been immersed in the fear and grief of the skyrocketing prices of Cuban cigars~~
Why can Cuban cigars arbitrarily raise prices.
Firstly, Cuban tobacco cultivation follows the principle of origin protection, which means that only tobacco leaves produced in the Urta Abayu region are exclusively supplied to Habanos Company for cigar rolling. Secondly, Cuba's current economic policy is a planned economy. The tobacco industry serves as a pillar of the national economy. All cigar seeds, fertilizers, etc. are supplied by the state to tobacco farmers, and finally the state purchases tobacco leaves uniformly. Thirdly, the annual production of Cuban cigars is less than 100 million. The shortage of tobacco raw materials, which are the core of Cuban cigars, limits the annual production of rolled Cuban cigars, making scarcity more valuable. Fourthly, the epidemic.
In summary (to be honest), even in normal years, the annual production of Cuban cigars is basically fixed, and it is a scarce luxury item in itself. When the market is in a state of long-term supply shortage, price increases are inevitable. In fact, the price of Cuban cigars rises every year, usually within 10% in previous years, which is also a common pricing method for luxury goods. And before this price adjustment, Cohiba was already the most expensive cigar in the world.
According to a press release released by Habanos on the 10th, the supply-demand imbalance is the main reason for the adjustment of Cuban cigars, and the market demand for Cohiba is unstoppable. As an internationally recognized luxury item, the price increase of Gaoxiba is reasonable.
If Habanos Company's judgment is correct, this price increase will only lead to changes in customer demographics. However, high-income consumers who prefer high Xiba are unlikely to change their consumption behavior due to pricing. There may even be a phenomenon where the higher the price, the more sought after it becomes.
Since price increases are inevitable, what should we do?
Firstly, it is essential to learn how to smoke cigars while maintaining them. Experienced cigar enthusiasts in the industry have a common practice of buying at least three boxes of the same cigar they like, opening one box and smoking the others to experience changes over time. While smoking and nurturing, the amount of eggplants in the cabinet gradually increased. Over time, this cigarette not only doesn't require spending money, but can also make money~~
Secondly, with the price increase of Cuban cigars, should we also pay close attention to non Cuban cigars as second tier products? I believe that in the near future, their high-quality product lines will also increase their prices accordingly. Hurry up and stock up~The third priority is to pay attention to domestic cigars. The growth rate of domestic cigar sales in recent years can be described as a rocket On the one hand, it is due to the inability of cigars from outside the epidemic to enter, and on the other hand, there are more and more domestic cigar customers.
At present, most of the domestically produced cigar tobacco leaves are imported, and production capacity is also easily limited. When Cuban cigars are not available and non Cuban prices also rise, do domestic cigars have to follow suit to avoid falling behind?
In addition, domestic cigars attach great importance to cigar maintenance and have been striving to improve cigar quality. The future is promising~~
In the current epidemic situation, (Cuban/non Cuban) cigars are already in short supply. If you can buy them now, quickly stock.
