44 / 50
80
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MAY/JUNE 2015
our own private label, which is made
by Camacho, which we sell for around
$4 a stick, and we sell a ton of those,”
he notes. “So the range for our cigars is
from around $3 to $30 a stick.”
Progressing From Pipes
“Originally, back in the 1970s we were
more focused on pipe tobacco, but since
then cigars have grown and pipe tobacco
has not,” explains Steinbock. “That’s
a national thing. We still move good
poundage in pipe tobacco, and we still
handblend and package it like we did
in 1959, but customers are interested in
cigars a lot more now.”
Quality and consistency are key to
building a cigar customer base, notes
Steinbock. “Obviously, I was around
during the mid-1990s cigar boom, and
there was a lot of inferior product in
the market at that time. But today the
product you see is the best I’ve ever seen,
and that’s across the board. You can’t
introduce a mediocre cigar now and
hope to make it. Competition between
manufacturers has gotten so tough,
which means consumers are now getting
the best cigars they’ve ever had. You see
a little innovation now and then, such
as variations in sizes, because everybody
is constantly searching for the next
new thing. But quality remains the key
driver.”
Aside from cigars, the vape category is
also becoming a trend, he adds. “I’ve also
seen a lot of interest in vaping products
from cigarette smokers. I wouldn’t
dedicate half my store to it, but it’ s a
nice little niche and I’d rather have it as
a small niche than not have it at all and
end up sending someone down the street
to get it elsewhere.”
Happy Customers Are the
Best Marketers
As a time-honored tobacconist in
Milwaukee, Uhle’s continues to benefit
trench marketing
Steinbock at the cigar counter with his son, Dave Steinbock