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TOBACCO BUSINESS
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Regis
Continued
a bourbon, a G&T or a Jack and Coke.
I am not a heavy smoker, so when light-
ing a cigar I tend to light up a more light-to-
medium cigar in the morning and after-
noon and a medium cigar in the evening. I
like well-rounded and fermented tobaccos
that make you taste all the flavors and all
taste dimensions without being overpowered
by a strong, bold taste. I do experiment a lot
and smoke both our brands and competing
brands. My favorites from our portfolio are
Partagás
Anniversario, Macanudo Inspirado
White, CAO Pilon and Cohiba Macassar.
ON FORGING A FUTURE…
Broadly, what do you see as the biggest
challenges ahead for the company?
The biggest opportunities?
I’m Dutch, so I’m very direct. That said, I’ll
start with the elephant in the room. The FDA
is a challenge, for us and for the entire indus-
try, but the tobacco industry has always had
challenges and opportunities. Considering
our leadership position in the category, we
believe that if we were to give up, the industry
would decline. We’re certainly not going to
let that happen. Compliance is vital, and with
our resources, the risk is mitigated. We are in
a very unique position, having a vast library
of amazing blends released before the predi-
cate date of [Feb. 15, 2007]. We are focused
on surprising and delighting our retail cus-
tomers and consumers, and by doing so will
ensure an exciting future for the category.
Brick-and-mortar is a focus for us. This
is an important point of consumer entry
into the category, and we are intent on cre-
ating and enhancing our partnerships with
retailers to support the sale of our cigars. It’s
not just about selling a cigar into a shop—
it’s about putting the right programs in place
to drive consumer pull at the retail level.
There is a lot of opportunity to flex our mar-
keting muscle and to leverage the people we
have on the street: sales, marketing and brand
ambassadors. I have empowered my team to
respond to retailer needs and to make deci-
sions that allow us to support the brick-and-
mortar channel. Building partnerships with
our customers and driving excitement among
cigar smokers is something my entire team is
tasked with doing.
As far as my goals for 2017 and beyond,
as demonstrated at this year’s [International
Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association]
(IPCPR) show, we are continuing to evolve the
perception of General Cigar and are chang-
ing the way people see us. We’ve righted the
ship and are no longer seen as the corporate
giant people once thought we were. We’re tak-
ing risks and evolving our brands and our cul-
ture. It’s now about a one-to-one dialogue with
our retailers and building connectivity with
consumers. We’re now known as a partner, an
innovator and [a company] that works to pro-
tect the future of the premium cigar business.
You brought Diesel Grind into the
General Cigar family at IPCPR.
It’s not just
about selling
a cigar into a
shop—it’s about
putting the right
programs in
place to drive
consumer pull at
the retail level.