92 / 102
A recent survey of cigar shop owners
suggests ways retailers can boost
their business.
BY JENNIFER GELFAND
Why do some stores thrive while others struggle? While
some factors, such as having a great location, are obvi-
ous, there are lots of more subtle reasons that can enable
a retailer selling similar products in a similar type of
store and location to outpace his or her peers. David
Bishop, of Balvor LLC, recently designed a survey to
identify those factors in the cigar shop retail channel.
Survey respondents were grouped in quartiles based
on their average weekly sales per store, which varied
dramatically across the quartiles. While the top quar-
tile of retailers brought in a hefty $26,608 in sales per
week on average, the bottom quartile averaged $2,062
in sales per week. (The third and fourth quartiles aver-
aged $12,000 and $5,500, respectively.)
“Our assumption was that the top performers got to
be top performers by doing something right,” explains
Bishop, who looked for commonalities among the top
retail performers that were enabling them to deliver a
standout performance. Here are the seven practices he
identified as having the potential to boost your business:
How to
Survive and
Thrive
as a
Tobacconist
Today
96%
81%
90%
77%
1
ADD A WALK-IN HUMIDOR
(% of respondents who report having
a walk-in humidor)
The prevalence of walk-in humidors
among more successful retailers
suggests that cigar shops adding a
walk-in humidor boosts sales.
BISHOP’S TAKE:
“The fact that you have an absence
of walk-in humidors in the bottom
quartile suggests that adding one
might strengthen their businesses.”
TOP QUARTILE:
THIRD QUARTILE:
SECOND QUARTILE:
BOTTOM QUARTILE:
2
STRENGTHEN YOUR
WEB PRESENCE
(% of respondents who have a website
or company Facebook page presence)
BISHOP’S TAKE:
“Having a website or Facebook page
isn’t so impressive.”
100%
86%
90%
76%
TOP QUARTILE:
THIRD QUARTILE:
SECOND QUARTILE:
BOTTOM QUARTILE:
3
ACTIVELY MARKET
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
While 98 percent of retailers reported
having a Facebook page, those with
stronger sales tend to be more active
on social media.
(% of respondents who reported
having updated their websites within
the last 30 days)
BISHOP’S TAKE:
“A lot of companies build a website
and then just leave it alone—but the
top performers tend to be innova-
tors who experiment and who take
a more dynamic approach to social
media,” says Bishop, who also notes
that a stagnant Facebook page is a
missed opportunity. “If a consumer
finds your website while searching the
internet for a store, that digital store-
front is your opportunity to give them
a good first impression of your shop.”
86%
41%
48%
42%
TOP QUARTILE:
THIRD QUARTILE:
SECOND QUARTILE:
BOTTOM QUARTILE:
87%
of cigar shop
retailers have
a website—but
only half make
updates at least
once a month.
[ 88 ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS
[
SEPTEMBER
/
OCTOBER
|
17 ]
BY THE
NUMBERS