Thursday, December 18 2008
By Brent Butterworth
Robb Report Special Issue: The 2009 Luxury Preview
If you're not a regular reader of
The Robb Report, this archived article about Padron's 80th Anniversary Cigar (with inside information on how Padron makes their legendary cigars), is very enlightening. - G.K.
Cigar-making has changed little in the past 150 years. It remains, for the most part, a conservative industry. But even the more staid brands seem as fast-moving as Silicon Valley startups when compared with Padrón Cigars. While most cigar manufacturers introduce at least a couple of fresh formulations each year, new Padrón blends arrive about as often as U.S. presidential elections. Instead of experimenting with recently popular tobaccos from Africa or South America, Padrón uses sun-grown tobacco from its farms in Nicaragua. And the company's bands and packaging would look right at home in the smoke shops of the 1960s.
How can such a tradition-bound enterprise survive in a business climate that often rewards constant innovation? Jorge Padrón—president of the company and one of two sons and two daughters of company founder José Padrón—addresses this question during a tour of the business' factory and farms in Nicaragua. "New products and line extensions are intended to get more shelf space in the stores, and to captivate the customers," Jorge says as he walks through one of the warehouses, inspecting the condition of the aging tobacco. "But we feel that you captivate the customers by producing a quality product. If you have a quality product, why change it?"
Eternal Flame continues...
