www.CubanCigarWebsite.com
| Website | Cigar Search | Cigar Information | |||||||||
| Home | News | Galleries | About | By Brand | By Release | By Date | Advanced Search | Tobacco & Production | Finished Cigars | Packaging | Brands & History |
Current Brand StatusThe currently Habanos s.a. portfolio consists of 27 brands, grouped by world availability.
The ten Global and Niche brands are considered the Habanos premium brands, that are promoted on a worldwide basis and these account for the bulk of their total sales. Of the remaining 17 brands, 10 have been selected as Regional Edition releases (up to and including 2009). The remaining 7 brands appear to have very little support, and apparently 3 of these were considered for deletion in 2009. For list of the Brands in each group..... click here. |
|
Current Production Types All Habanos cigars are now handmade (Totalmente a Mano). They are predominantly long filler (Tripa Larga). Jose L Piedra, La Flor de Cano, and Quintero brands comprise all short filler (Tripa Corta) cigars. Por Larrañaga, Rafael Gonzalez, and Fonseca each contain a single short filler (Tripa Corta) cigar . This information was confirmed as correct in 2006 and is understood to be still current. |
|
Sales & Revenue In 2008, Montecristo became Habanos' largest market seller and revenue earner. Previously Cohiba was the top revenue earner. Early 2009 figures reveal the following market order: Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta , Jose L Piedra, Cohiba, Partagás, Hoyo de Monterrey, Quintero, and H Upmann. The majority of all income is earned from the first four brands. The largest selling cigar is the Montecristo No.4 (a Petit Corona) with a 8% market share (2008). |
|
Pre-Revolution Brand History When Cubatabaco took control of the Cuban Cigar Industry in February 1962, 25 brands existed: Several existing pre-revolution brands were later reinstated:
One pre-revolution brand was proposed for reinstatement:
Between 1966 and 2002, the following new brands were added:
The following brands have been discontinued from the Habanos range:
These brands were also discontinued from the Habanos range but continue to be produced in Cuba (using 100% Cuban tobacco) under licence by the Cuban-Spanish joint venture Internacional Cubana de Tabacos, S.A. They also produce the Mini, Club, and Puritos range of mini cigars (cigars less the 3 grams). Packs and are marked "Habanos S.A." and "HECHO EN CUBA" and have the small version of the Cuban warranty seal on the pack. This warranty seal does not have a serial number.
|
|
Cuban History The following is a summary of significant periods in Cuban history (as it affects Tobacco & Cigars): 1492 Columbus "discovers" indigenous tobacco in Cuba and takes it back to the Old World. 1511 Spain takes control of Cuba. 1614 La Casa de Contratatacion de la Habana formed to develop tobacco production in Cuba. 1717 Royal monopoly control on tobacco growing in Cuba imposed and vigorously enforced. 1817 Tobacco industry monopoly ends and a boom in cigar production export commences. 1898 War brings independence to Cuba (under USA influence) and the American / British buy-out begins. 1920 Cigar making machines introduced into Cuba. 1959 The Revolution occurs (outing corrupt President Batista) and Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba. 1960 Castro nationalises the Cuban cigar industry on 15 September 1960. For more detail, see below. 1962 Cubatabaco (Empresa Cubana del Tabaco) was formed and over one hundred export brands discontinued. 1962/3 The 1962 Cuban Missile crisis results in a USA embargo. Full restrictions are enforced in 1963. 1980 Cuban factory Vitolas de Galera names are reduced and rationalised. For more detail, see below. 1992 Start of Cuba's Special Period, a near decade of economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union (who had been propping up Castro & Cuba). 1994 Habanos S.A. (Habanos Sociedad Anomina) created as the commercial (sales) arm of Cubatabaco. Cubatabaco retains control of all aspects of cigar production. 1999 Altadis S.A. formed by merger between Spain's Tabacalera S.A. and France's SEITA. 2000 Altadis S.A. purchases a 50% share in Habanos S.A. 2001 Tabacuba formed and takes over from Cubatabaco as the manufacturing arm of Habanos S.A. Internacional Cubana de Tabacos s.a. formed to manufacture & promote the Guantanamera brand and the various brands of mini cigars (mini, club, & puritos). 2002 A major policy change introduced, and production improvements commenced. For more detail, see below. 2005 A three year period of significant production improvements completed. 2006 Arguably considered as a highpoint in modern Cuban cigar quality. 2007 Altadis (French-Spanish company) has accepted a bid of €50 a share from Britain’s Imperial Tobacco (valuing the company at €12.6 billion, for its 252,436,856 shares). Altadis holds a 50% share of Habanos SA. Castro's illness triggers speculation of the end of the US embargo. While currently appearing unlikely, this, combined with the pending merger, raises many concerns regarding supply, quality and pricing of Cuban cigars. 2008 The final sale/transfer of Altadis to BIT finalised. Castro announces his retirement as President of the Council of State, and Commander-in-Chief. |
|
Major Industry Changes The following periods are significant within the Cuban cigar industry: Pre Revolution Before the Revolution, the Cuban cigar industry was not centralised. There was no system or rules to follow. All manufacturers were independent, ranging from the very small to the very large. Every manufacturer was free to produce whatever cigars and packaging style that they desired. The Revolution - 2 January 1959 Following the revolution, it was business as usual for the cigar industry. Firms remained independent. The Cuban cigar price list effective from 1st January 1959 showed 140 brands undertaking export production. There were a total of 1,185 vitolas available, comprising 999 in currently production, and further 186 available by special order. Nationalisation - 15 September 1960 On this date, all private businesses were “nationalised” and become the property of the Cuban government. Many business proprietors of the Cuban factories fled the country. While there was general chaos, Cuban cigar production in many small factories continued, sometimes with only the employees operating the businesses. Cubatabaco Formed - February 1962 At this time, Government officials took over the management of all Cuban cigar factories. Most small factories were closed down due to lack of man-power. Only major factories remained in operation. These factories still remained independent of each other and therefore from a production point of view, still nothing changed from pre-revolution times. The lack of change was probably due to the new government factory managers knowing very little about cigars, and the Communist system, where there is no reward for positive thinking. Cubatabaco produced its first Catalogue detailing the brands officially produced by the new Government regimen. The number of brands and vitolas was substantially reduced. Crop Failure - 1980 In 1980 blue-mould plant disease wiped out the entire tobacco crop in 1980. With no tobacco, the factories became idle and some were closed. This period of inactivity initiated a historical rationalisation of the Cuban cigar industry. During this time, a new policy was developed that had three main principles. Every factory could make any brand; all vitolas sizes and packaging types were standardised; and uneconomic vitolas or packaging were eliminated. A massive trimming of many small selling vitolas occurred, with only some 500 different vitolas remaining. Altadis SA purchase of 50% of Habanos SA - 2001 Prompted by Altadis S.A. influence, in 2001 Habanos S.A. decided to dramatically change the way they make and market cigars. This change was carried out over a three year period. Instead of having varying degrees of quality within each brand (handmade, hand-finished, & machine-made), Habanos S.A. decided that the major brands will only offer premium “totalmente a mano” hand-rolled cigars. This was to allow consumers to better understand just what sort of cigar they are buying. Of the 549 vitolas that were manufactured in 1992 (the beginning of Cuba's Special Period) only 319 were to remain in production, and only 33 brands continue to manufactured, and almost all brands saw major changes. Within each brand, vitolas that have the same size but different blends, were axed. Only the best selling cigar of a vitola was to survive. These changes enable a greater chance of a particular vitola being in stock. The simplification of the brand lines allows the occasional smoker to better understand the range of Habanos. There were two other significant decisions. Firstly the machine-bunched hand-finished method was to be eliminated, due to economic and marketing simplification reasons. Secondly, the Belinda, Quintero, Jose L Piedra, Gispert, La Flor del Cano, Cabanas, Los Statos de Luxe, and Troya brands will only be made by the “tripa corta” or “mecanizado” methods. Extension of the 2001 Policy - circa2005 Around 2005 Habanos SA decided to carry this 2001 policy further by eliminating all machine-made cigars and brands from their portfolio. This reduced the number of brands to 27 and reduced the number of standard production vitolas to around 240. This was offset by the major increase in production of premium cost special releases. Purchase of Altadis SA by British Imperial Tobacco - 2008 So far, there is no obvious changes arising from the BIT purchase. |