Tobacco Business

[ 72 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JANUARY / FEBRUARY | 22 ] Tobacco Business : How important is it to have a diversified selection of products fromdifferent categorieswithin your store? Jeremy Weiner: I feel it is very important to carry a very diversified selection of products in all categories because that is what differentiates us from the convenience industry and our tobacco store competitors. Our goal is to satisfy the needs of all adult consumers with a large footprint of tobacco and nicotine alternative products, along with plenty of tobacco- related accessories. Doug Nolan: Customers like to make their own educated decisions. Having a breadth of product allows for a larger customer base. Tim Greene: There are many more product options for customers than in the past. It’s imperative that we provide customers with options that will meet their needs. Many times, consumers are looking for new products, new formats and something different. With diversity, we can successfully meet customer needs. Bryan Reesor: We are mostly in rural towns since we are based in central Kentucky. A lot of these towns might not have a lot of options to get those products that they want. Being a discount tobacco retailer, we really want to have that selection for the customers to come in, browse and see what we have. We can offer a great price for many different types of products that a lot of gas stations and convenience stores can’t offer because they don’t have the space to carry many brands. That gives us a great opportunity to really showcase what’s out there in the market. Hopefully we can get those customers, take care of them at the cash register and hopefully earn their business for years to come. As a retailer, howdo you decide onwhat new products to bring into your store? Nolan: Trends and gut feelings. Products and brands have to be built. Customers want to be directed and helped with choices, so it comes down to the best message that resonates with each customer. Reesor: We always stick to our staples. We follow government guidance and regulations, but a lot of it is word of mouth that helps us decide what to carry. Our customers are a really good example of something that we follow. They’ll let us know what they want. We’ve actually brought in brands in the past based off of customers asking for it. If you’re getting that demand for a product, why not try it? Sometimes those work, sometimes they might not. We have really good relationships with our vendors to where we try to get products guaranteed, meaning if they don’t sell, the vendor will take When choosing a new brand of premium cigars to bring into our Smoker Friendly humidors, it should have name recognition, product advertisements and good social media presence, along with manufacturer representatives visiting our locations to help promote the brand. — Jeremy Weiner, Smoker Friendly International them back. We also have really good relationships with some other discount tobacco retailers, and we share knowledge between each other, which is super helpful. It’s great to have those relationships. Greene: As the tobacco industry has evolved, so has the demand of our consumers. We look for opportunities to provide customers with new and innovative products by partnering with trusted manufacturers and suppliers to bring those offerings to market. The decision to bring a product to market is predicated on need. Is there customer demand or does it fill a gap in our product offerings? Does the product have support from the manufacturer and/or supplier so we can best educate consumers and provide them with a quality product at a fair price? Weiner: When choosing a new brand of premium cigars to bring into our Smoker Friendly humidors, it should have name recognition, product advertisements and good social media presence, along with manufacturer representatives visiting our locations to help promote the brand. We have found that without manufacturer representative support, new brands will not sell very well in our locations. Our employees try to service every cigar consumer, but due to the volume