Basic HTML Version
64
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
MAY/JUNE 2012
Highlights from the
PROCIGAR FESTIVAL
2012
Name:
Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard
Title/Company:
CEO and
President, Oettinger Davidoff
Group
About him:
Succeeding Reto Cina
in April of 2011, Hoejsgaard is
descended from a Denmark tobacco
family known as a distributor of cigars
and pipes. Hoejsgaard’s professional
background is in global marketing with
a focus on luxury goods. Before joining
Davidoff, he held the CEO post at
Timex Group and Georg Jensen LTD,
and served as president of Lancaster
Group Worldwide, the fragrance and
cosmetics division of Coty. His global
marketing experience encompasses
lengthy stretches spent in Asia, Europe
and the U.S. At Basle, Switzerland-
based Davidoff, a $1.5 billion leader in
premium handmade cigars, he sees his
mission as “leveraging the company’s
global premium brand.”
Onthefuture:
Withpremiumbrands
that include Camacho, Zino Platinum
and AVO, Davidoff is uniquely
positioned to expand its luxury image
globally, says Hoejsgaard. “Davidoff is
very much a luxury product,” he asserts.
“And as opposed to jewelry and watches
businesses [that I was in previously] this
is an affordable luxury. It is not as big a
decision as buying an expensive watch,
and that is a very exciting platform
to build on. Davidoff has to become
what champagne has been for so
many years—a sign of achievement, of
celebration.”
On
market
opportunities:
Hoejsgaard sees lots of potential in
several markets. “I can see the market
growing in the U.S., China and global
duty free, which is very promising
for the future,” he says. “China is our
fastest-growing market. It’s the fifth-
largest market for Davidoff, but it is
growing bymore than 20 percent a year.”
The company also sees opportunities to
expand the Camacho boutique brand it
acquired in 2008 internationally.
On what’s new:
In December, the
company opened what Hoejsgaard
describes as its flagship 21st-century
retail store in the recently redesigned
Airside Center of the Zurich Airport.
“We wanted to create a tobacco
destination that would help consumers
understand that we are a destination
for not only our own cigar brands, but
all cigars,” he explains. “We are now
rolling that concept out.”The company
currently operates 65 retail shops
around the world, including locations
in Geneva, New York and Hong Kong.
Davidoff also has approximately 500
“appointed Davidoff merchants,”
retailers who carry the company’s
complete line and follow its store
guidelines.
On overall outlook:
Hoejsgaard is
undaunted by clouds on the horizon,
such as the threat of FDA regulation.
“I recognize the medium-price sector
will be under price pressure from
competitors and that we as an industry
[are under threat], but on the high end,
the market keeps growing and the
consumer is getting more and more
interested in new things,”he says. “I am
very optimistic.”
Designing A Future at Davidoff
Product Spotlight
In June of 2010, a decade after the launch of the Davidoff Millennium
Blend and exactly 20 years after introducing the first Dominican Davidoff
Cigars, Davidoff brought a new “Puro d’Oro” cigar line to market. The
first Davidoff series with a tobacco blend and wrapper sourced exclusively
from the Dominican Republic, Puro d’Oro launched in four formats:
Deliciosos, Magnificos, Notables and Sublimes, with tobacco blends
varying from “medium” to “full bodied.”
In developing the cigar, the company worked with Hendrik Kelner, a
renowned tobacco expert and local Davidoff manager in the Dominican
Republic, to perfect a wrapper grown in a very specific area of Yamasa
in the southern part of the island: the Davidoff Yamasa wrapper. This
exclusive wrapper thrives in tobacco fields with red earth rich in important
minerals, providing a unique aromatic experience.