Not ignoring consumers’ interests, Sindicato’s prices were initially aimed at the $8 to $14 range, but within the past year, Colucci has renegotiated agreements with one of Sindicato’s biggest manufacturers, Aganorsa Leaf, which has dropped the MSRP by a few dollars for each of the Sindicato Natural and Maduro cigars. In addition, the company also updated the packaging on its Sindicato brand, thus accompanying the new pricing with a new look.
“We got great reviews on the Sindicato line, but the pricing was a little too high,” Colucci explains. “Everything is down a few dollars per cigar. The Magnum was $13.95, but now it’s $9.95. We’re at a very competitive price with our most expensive cigar at $9.95. We did new packaging at the same time, so it looks like a relaunch though it’s the same top quality it’s ever been.”
All Sindicato Cigars’ products are made in Nicaragua by Aganorsa Leaf and NACSA. One of the biggest stories in the premium cigar industry in the 21st century has been the growth of the Nicaraguan cigar industry as more consumers seem to be demanding cigars made in the Central American country. Sindicato Cigars’ partnerships with Aganorsa Leaf and NACSA have it poised to grow alongside Nicaragua’s emergence as a cigar producing country.
“I love working with Aganorsa Leaf because I know they do everything right—from growing tobacco to making cigars—and I knew that they would make great products for us,” says Colucci. “NACSA also makes great cigars. The quality of the product coming out of that factory is outstanding.”
Extending Sindicato’s Benefits
Colucci reports that last year was one of the best for Sindicato, despite a lingering problem of getting brokers to represent the brand nationwide. Sindicato Cigars’ best opportunity for growth has been at the IPCPR show, where the company routinely picks up a few new retailers each year. While the company is continuing its search for reputable dealers to represent its brands in the shops, Sindicato Cigars was at last able to make a distribution to its stockholders for the first time in 2018, and, according to Colucci, interest in becoming a member of Sindicato is growing, though he reiterates that a retailer doesn’t have to be a member to sell Sindicato’s cigars.
“If you’re interested in becoming a Sindicato member, you can contact me and I will take the request to the board,” he says. “We’re growing little by little, and I don’t think that there is a retailer in the country that we would turn down unless they weren’t willing to agree to the terms of membership regarding our price guidelines: You can’t discount the product more than 10 percent, and you can’t distribute it to other retailers. Our nonmembers buy our cigars at the same prices as our members, so you don’t have to be a Sindicato member to enjoy the benefits of the company. We would love for any retailer to consider becoming a Sindicato member, but you don’t need to be a member to sell our cigars.”
This story first appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– By Stephen A. Ross, senior editor of Tobacco Business Magazine.
