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were difficult to get at the time, and he was the driv-
ing force in making that happen.” Today, all 16 stores,
which range in size from 1,500 square feet up to 3,500
square feet, feature walk-in humidors.
While cigarettes still account for most of the remain-
ing 75 percent of sales, Klafter’s has also done well with
RYO/MYO, snuff and vapor products in recent years.
“We adjust the mix depending on the demographics in
the area,” says Silverman. “If it’s a strong RYO custom-
er base, we’ll have a larger selection of RYO.”
The company has also tested expansions that didn’t
fare quite as well, Silverman is quick to note. “We tried
opening a bulk candy and coffee store in a mall, but we
closed it within a year,” he says. “I realized pretty quickly
that we would have had to open five of them to do the
same amount of business that just one of our stores does.”
Despite the occasional hiccup, Silverman continual-
ly looks for new opportunities. At present, he foresees
growth in vapor as the category rebounds from recent
setbacks, and he also sees potential in cannabis accesso-
ries. “Seven years ago, I would never have entertained
the thought of getting into the cannabis business,” he
acknowledges. “But we regularly check with our store
managers about what people are asking for, and they re-
ported that everyone was asking for glass pipes. So we
discretely added them to our stores, and they sold.”
The company’s primary growth strategy, however,
continues to be adding locations. “Growing stores
organically or through acquisition is probably the best
opportunity we have for more rapid growth,” says
Silverman, who adds that finding locations that meet his
criteria may prove difficult. “We’d like to get to 20 stores
by 2020 if we can find good potential locations.”
TB
A FAMILY AFFAIR
As this article was going to press, Renee Silver-
man, marketing director at Klafter’s, was putting
the finishing touches on the company’s traveling
humidor—a project she launched to commemo-
rate the 25th anniversary of the company’s retail
division. “We will introduce it on June 1 at our first
location opened in Boardman, Ohio,” explains Re-
nee Silverman, who was a retail buyer for Kauff-
man’s before joining her husband, Randy Silver-
man, in the family business in 2000.
The traveling humidor, a brand-new trailer that
will be wrapped with Smoker Friendly and cigar adv-
ertising that will be used to promote and sell at
outdoor events, is just one of many areas Renee
Silverman oversees for the company. After waiting
four years into her marriage to join the company,
she jumped into the thick of things once she came
on board. Purchasing products, planning events,
setting up retail promotions, managing social med-
ia and website marketing are all part of a long and
varied list of responsibilities that she handles or
oversees for the company—much to the delight of
her father-in-law, Lee Silverman, who says he and
his wife, Judy, are thrilled at the roles their son and
his wife are playing within the family business.
“Renee is very business-minded and has the
computer skills that are so important to run a busi-
ness like this these days,” says Lee Silverman,
who still comes into the office regularly but is hap-
py to leave the heavy lifting to the duo. “Randy
has picked up the reins, made the changes that
needed to take place and continued to keep and
build the relationships that are so important in this
business. We are just thrilled with the work they’re
both doing.”
We regularly
check with our
store managers
about what
people are
asking for and
they reported
that everyone
was asking for
glass pipes. So
we discretely
added them to
our stores, and
they sold.
Randy, Renee, and Judy and Lee Silverman
Klafter's brand-new traveling humidor
Klafter's
Continued