14
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2014
NEWS & TRENDS
JULY/AUGUST 2014
Highlights
M&R Holdings
Transitions
Bill West has joined M&R Holdings’
national sales force. West has sev-
eral years of experience in different
facets of the tobacco industry as
well as years of sales experience. He
will work with the company’s cus-
tomers on brands including Dean’s
Pipe Tobacco, Dean’s Cigars, Dean’s
E-Cigars and Farmer’s Gold.
M&R has also named Michelle Ed-
mundson as a tobacco broker for the
company. Edmundson will draw on
years of experience in the wholesale
and distribution of tobacco products
to help clients customize tobacco
programs for Dean’s and Farmer’s
Gold products for their businesses.
New Dealer for
Smoker Friendly
In May, Smoker Friendly signed XO
Corporation as a new authorized
dealer in its Smoker Friendly (SF)
Private Label Program. XO intro-
duced SF products into its 12 retail
locations in the Kansas City, Mis-
souri market during the last part of
May 2014. Smoker Friendly now
has 79 corporations participating in
its authorized dealer program, and
over 800 stores nationwide.
Michelle Edmundson
Bill West
Miami Cigar & Company Launches
New Look and New Leadership
Nestor Miranda is celebrating his company’s 25th anniversary
by announcing a new design and changes in company
management.
Along with the unveiling of new design elements, Nestor Miranda has announced
that he is passing management of day-to-day operations on to Jason Wood. “2014
marks the 25th anniversary of my company and it has brought a renewed excite-
ment to my wife and me,” says Nestor Miranda, director of Miami Cigar & Compa-
ny. “I can proudly say that I knew my son-in-law, Jason Wood, was a special talent
who just needed industry experience that time has brought to him. I am excited
about the new vision that he has for our future and the re-branding of the Nestor
Miranda Collection.”
Miami Cigar & Company will unveil this new look—which is in keeping with a
new “One Life” tagline the company is already promoting on social media—at the
2014 IPCPR show. “It has been an honor for me to begin the process of creating
a new look and feel which is worthy of what Nestor Miranda and the Miami Cigar
& Company team have accomplished over the last 25 years,” says Jason Wood,
vice president of Miami Cigar & Company. “The ‘One Life’ tagline represents the
way that Nestor [Miranda] has and contin-
ues to live his life. It represents a call to
action to seize the day and live every mo-
ment with passion. We are looking forward
to celebrating our new look and company
anniversary in Las Vegas this July.”
Smoker Friendly
Announces New CIO
David Kittle has joined the Cigarette Store Corp. and Smoker Friendly as
chief information officer. Kittle, who has 20 years of experience in the in-
formation technology and information systems industry, will manage and
expand the information technology systems team at Smoker Friendly with
an emphasis on security, stability and growth for Smoker Friendly.
