Thursday, May 04 2006
It's easy to take your cigars on the road. Pack a few in a nice leather
case, or even a travel
humidor if you're on an extended trip. It's not as easy to take your lighter.
In the post-September 11 world, a prohibition on fueled lighters in both carry-on and checked luggage was instituted. The first breakthrough was Otterbox's Zippo Cargo Case, introduced last year, which allowed carriage of a Zippo-style lighter with
oil-based fuel in checked baggage.
Now, Colibri is introducing the first carrying case authorized for compressed gas (i.e., butane) and oil lighters, allowing you to take your Colibri, Dupont, Dunhill or other cigar lighter with you! The TranzPack is shaped like a giant yellow capsule that unscrews in the middle to reveal a heavy foam compartment which will hold your lighter steady in flight. It's vapor-tight and has been specifically approved for such use by the U.S. Department of Transportation and carries a DOT notice on the side stating "Lighter in this packaging conforms to DOT-SP 14327 and may be transported in checked baggage by domestic passenger aircraft."
A limit of two such TranzPacks can be carried in checked baggage. It's coming soon to Colibri retailers nationwide and has a friendly suggested retail price of $14.95. Participating retailers will offer one free to buyers of Colibri or Dupont lighters priced at $65.00 or more!
The important "gray market" case in Britain pitting MasterCigars Direct against Habanos, S.A. and Hunters & Frankau is still alive. The British High Court ruled in favor of Hunters in March, holding that MasterCigars's purchase of cigars in Cuba did not allow them to re-sell them in Britain since Hunters is the exclusive importer and has control of the use of the brand names. But the High Court has now allowed MasterCigars to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, opening the possibility of a different result. The case is expected to be heard by the end of 2006. Because the law governing the case comes from the European commercial code, the impact of an ultimate victory by MasterCigars Direct could be enormous. Some commentators have suggested that prices in Britain specifically, but also in Europe, could be slashed by as much as half. Beyond the Court of Appeal, the court of last resort in Britain is the House of Lords.
Swedish Match, owner of General Cigar, reported a strong first quarter for 2006, with cigar revenues up 3% to $103.2 million U.S. (converted from Swedish Kronor) over the first quarter of 2005. The profit margin on cigars also increased to 20.8%, so profits on the cigar sector totaled $21.5 million, more than 22% ahead of last year. The company's commentary on its financial report noted that sales in local currency were down in Europe and for machine-made cigars in the U.S., but up for premium cigars. Overall, the company had sales of $401.5 million in the first quarter and net income was $66.3 million. For the first time in two years, snuff outpaced cigars as the company's top-selling product, at $106.8 million for the quarter.
Short fillers: Puros de Armando Ramos, famous for its Pinar line made with pre-embargo Cuban tobacco, is introducing its top-selling European cigar in the U.S. The A/R Epicure Celebracion Tubulares is a toro-sized (6 inches by 50 ring) cigar made in Ecuador and offered in all-white aluminum tubes in boxes of 10, 25 or 100 . . . A suit to deactivate the New York state ban on Internet, mail-order and over-the-telephone sales of tobacco products has been launched by the Association of Responsible Cigarette Sellers. The action is based on the year-old U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning interstate shipments of wine, where the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution was held to trump state regulations. If successful, it could lead to the deletions of bans on interstate shipments of tobacco products currently in force in Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana and Oregon.
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
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Heard in the Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company.
Copyright 2006; All rights reserved
