Tobacco Business

[ 70 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MARCH / APRIL | 21 ] L TOBACCONIST / RETAIL Long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Scott Bendett was a tobacconist who set his sights on the “new frontier” of retail: e-commerce. In 1999, Bendett launched PipesandCigars.com , a website he owned and operated for 14 years before selling it to Cigars International. During those years, Bendett admits that he made more mistakes than he can count, and in retrospect he has an endless number of ideas of what he could have done differently. While most business owners find second chances few and far between, Bendett is an exception. Bendett started selling cigars in 1995 out of a cart parked outside of a Macy’s store at a local mall. At the time, he had just started enjoying cigars and saw how popular cigars were becoming among the masses. Anticipating the popularity of cigars would spread far and wide, Bendett saw how the luxury experience surrounding cigars would continue to resonate with many consumers for years to come. Cigars became not only a product he enjoyed selling, but they offered him a newway to engage with and serve his community. Bendett kept the mall kiosk but wanted to get into e-commerce, which was just beginning to take off in 1999. That inspired him to start PipesandCigars.com. By this time, he had two brick-and-mortar stores that he maintained, and he also continued to sell nontobacco items online through another website he started, RYOSupply.com . When his non-compete agreement expired, he decided he wanted to return to the world of online premium cigar sales. Starting a new online cigar business would allow him to reconnect with PipesandCigars.com ’s former marketing director, Travis Lord, who had experience with digital marketing and web development. Their past success made Bendett feel confident that they could recapture the magic that had made their previous website so successful. The second factor came a bit later: the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s no secret that brick-and-mortar shops are suffering these days due to the restrictions on our business and the public’s lack of desire to leave the house,” Bendett explains. “Online sales are booming across all industries, so with the right people on my team and more room in the marketplace than ever, getting back on the web was a natural step.” Bendett’s new online venture, Scotty’s Cigars ( ScottysCigars.com ), is a business that is both built from experience and inspired by The Online Tobacconist By Antoine Reid Scott Bendett has over two decades of experience as an online tobacconist. As he launches his latest online store, Bendett shares his tips and insights for building a successful tobacco-centric e-commerce site.