Tobacco Business

[ 10 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] I EDITOR’S LETTER MAGAZINE TOBACCO BUSINESS VOL24 NO5 ✶ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021 PRESIDENT Jason Carignan MANAGING DIRECTOR Ben Stimpson GENERAL MANAGER, CIRCULATION AND ADMINISTRATION Lea Edmondson SENIOR EDITOR AND DIGITAL DIRECTOR Antoine D. Reid ART DIRECTOR Harrison Brackett COPY EDITOR Stephanie Banfield CONTRIBUTORS Thomas Briant, Frank Seltzer, Amy Tejada, Jarrid Trudeau TOBACCO PLUS EXPO MANAGING DIRECTOR Ben Stimpson TRADE SHOW DIRECTOR Ellie Hansen TMG SALES MANAGER Dawn Conger DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Brian Rodak TRADE SHOW OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS MANAGER Scott Gibson SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rachel Esteffe TMG SALES ASSOCIATE Carly Gegorek TOBACCO BUSINESS MAGAZINE PO Box 58541 Raleigh, NC 27658 A DIVISION OF KRETEK INTERNATIONAL, INC. CHAIRMAN Hugh Cassar PRESIDENT AND CEO Sean Cassar CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Don Gormly Tobacco Business is published bimonthly at PO Box 58541, Raleigh, NC 27658. Printed in USA. Copyright 2021 by TBI, LLC. Subscription rate is $45.00/year. Send paid subscriptions to Tobacco Business at same address as mentioned above. For reprint information, contact Lea Edmondson at (877) 702-4427. Copying: Permission is granted with users of the Copy- right Clearance Center Inc. To photocopy any article, with the exception of those for which separate copyright ownership is indicated on the first page of the article, provide a base fee of $1.25/copy. Tobacco Business International is a registered trademark of TBI, LLC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tobacco Business , PO Box 58541, Raleigh, NC 27658. Superheroes Among Us The Team Antoine Reid, Senior Editor, antoinereid@tobaccobusiness.com I’ve been involved in the media side of the tobacco industry for nearly 11 years, which feels like several lifetimes. My first job in this industry was as a graphic designer for Tobacconist magazine, which at the time was the trade publication for the tobacco industry. During the six years I worked with Tobacconist , I never really understood it. It wasn’t until I started here at Tobacco Business maga- zine back in December 2016 that things started to click. The idea of building an entire publication around tobacco retailers seems crazy to many. This is an industry that makes manufacturers into icons and loves its cigar influencers, but when it comes to retailers, very few put them on the pedestal they deserve to be on. Let’s be honest—with- out retailers, this industry wouldn’t work. Without retailers, there would be no successful brands, and there would be no cigars of the year or cigar celebrities. I’ve yet to find a successful brand or product that has made it on their own without the assistance and backing of the retailers. Yet, how many times have we seen retailers being interviewed by podcasts, on the cover of magazines or treated like the true celebrities that they are? One reason I believe the industry has such a hard time really embracing retailers is that sometimes we have a hard time defining what a retailer is. The tobacco industry is very tradi- tional and experiential. Half of the experience is all about walking into a brick-and-mortar store, being greeted by the aroma of cigars, and being able to touch and taste a cigar. No one is going to argue how important brick-and-mortar retailers are, but along those same lines, so are the online retailers and those with subscription box models. At the end of the day, there are different types of retailers, but all of them are doing the same thing—they’re serving the consumers the products, experiences and education that builds this community and gives it an extended life. Yes, there are issues that must be addressed, such as products being sold for lower prices online than they are in brick-and-mortar stores or increased competition, but all retailers serve as the heart and soul of the industry—and without them, we’d all be at a loss. Tobacconist was a magazine dedicated to retailers and putting their stories front and center. When that magazine folded, Tobacco Business stepped up to give voice to this part of the industry. While we always run stories about retailers, we’ve never published an entire issue that, cover to cover, has explored all of the facets of the tobacco retail community. In this issue, you’ll find that there are stories of retailers of all sizes and backgrounds. There’s a story about Sarah Santos, who serves as the president of the massive retail operation that is Cigars International. We also have stories about Smoker Friendly International, which has become the leading tobacco outlet chain in recent years, and of Abe Froman, the owner of the independent cigar lounge and store, Phoenix, Arizona-based Embargo Cigars. In this issue, we also provide the results of our recent Tobacco Business Retail Survey, which will give you a glimpse of where many retailers stand today and what issues matter to them. The tobacco industry is a small industry, and all retailers play a vital role in how successful it is. Whether they are a brick-and-mortar store, an online shop, catalog-based or subscription box- based, every retailer is relevant and has a story to tell. Every retailer also has the ability to be as big or small as he or she wants and to still be just as successful as the next guy. It’s our hope that this issue will convince tobacco retailers to look at other retailers as sources of inspiration rather than competition and that for those non-retailers, you’ll see retailers for the superheroes they really are.