TOB Magazine

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LOADING
PROFITS
UP Here’s how has used the power
of websites and social media to make big profits
on pipes and pipe tobacco. BY ANTO I NE RE I D
was founded in the year 2000 as a way to bring
pipes and pipe tobacco to customers through an online retail medi-
um. Despite regulations and a shrinking market,
remains a thriving business that brings the classic hobby of pipes to
a new generation of pipe enthusiasts. One of the ways that Smoking-
manages to stay on top of an industry often overlooked is
its approach to marketing and branding. From the time its founder
Sykes Wilford thought there was a profitable business in selling artis-
anal pipes while attending college at Vanderbilt to the day he launched
the online e-commerce website, has been anything
but a traditional tobacco retailer.
primarily sells pipes and pipe tobacco. Pipe to-
bacco is considered to be a low-margin product, while pipes are gener-
ally more favorably marked up for retail. Revenue-wise, the company
sees roughly an even split between pipes and pipe tobacco. Unlike many
tobacco businesses, the company first launched as an e-commerce web-
site before branching out and starting its brick-and-mortar store based
in Little River, South Carolina.