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Occasionally I’m asked about the meaning behind the name CigarPage.com. Back in 1996 when I founded Cigars International from a spare room in my crummy apartment we needed a name. CI was a brand new startup and “International” sounded big and established so I thought “why the hell not?” Flash forward nearly 20 years to 2015 and there we are launching Cigar Page.

Woudn’t you know, the page was blank all over again. It was a new day. Forget about having built the world’s largest cigar retailer over the course of 16 years. We started all over with a near-empty warehouse, no customers, and just a handful of employees. While I had long-standing relationships with factories and suppliers, turns out most were nervous about supporting a new competitor to my former company, a company which had become every factory’s largest customer. I found out who my friends were pretty quick.

We love the obstacles, and embraced the challenge. It felt a lot like the early years at CI all over again, when cigar makers would not return calls and prospective new employees turned down our offers. Back then we plowed forward and developed new channels and took unusual approaches. We launched the first cigar auction site CigarBid.com, unsuccessfully started a machine-made only cigar site, mailed 24 different catalogs a year, purchased a site called Cigar.com and revamped it, created hundreds of brands and blends, started CigarFest out of an old warehouse, opened some big footprint retail stores, and had a bunch of fun. Before you know it we were the largest cigar retailer in the world, outgrowing companies everyone told us we were crazy to compete against….first Thompson Cigar and then JR Cigars. Factories and suppliers who wouldn’t give us the time of day before now wanted to be in our camp. It got easier to attract employee talent too. Those that took some risks and saw the vision early on – the small core of employees and cigar manufacturers – they were our heart and soul, and that was where our loyalty was. That’s why we partner with factories and suppliers who are smaller and hungrier. That’s why we hire passionate and creative people that may not necessarily have polished resumes.

The challenges we faced 2015 through today are different than those back in 1996. For one, the Internet. In 1996 the big guys then thought the web was a passing fad like the horseless carriage, while we embraced it. Second, MAP, or Minimum Advertised Prices. Many manufacturers and brand owners now impose price restrictions on sellers which removes price competition. Those are dollars directly out of your wallet so we work to find ways around that. Third, taxes. Federal taxes on cigars have ballooned. In the 90s it was 4-cents per stick, basically non-existent. Now it’s 50+% of the wholesale value. It’s up tenfold, and will go up again. Furthermore, we have to collect sales tax in most states and worse yet, some states are trying to impose new excise taxes in addition. Fourth, competition. We built it from the ground up and we’re doing it all over again….and the footsteps our competitors hear are ours (thanks to you). Fifth, search engines, social media, etc. Fewer but much larger online gatekeepers control things like never before, and they don’t like tobacco. These gatekeepers have made it harder for newer upstarts to reach new customers and take market share from the established entities. Sixth, regulations such as FDA are making this craft cottage industry of handmade cigars more complex, more costly, and more restrictive by the day.

But thanks to you we are growing fast, having a blast, and have a world-class team that’s passionate about cigars. If you’re a fan of “da Page,” please help us out and spread the word!

CONTACT US

Email: help@cigarpage.com