Tobacco Business

As long as you are communicating with your customers and working hard to provide them with the best experience, they will remain loyal. –Nick Libretti “ ” lounges and some with cocktail bars. Two other locations are still branded as JR Cigar Outlets and have a focus on transient consumers who are looking for a huge selection of cigars. “We are always evaluating the possibility of expansion,” comments Casa de Montecristo CEO Brad Winstead. “We look for markets that fit our model: a place where you can enjoy a premium cigar and have a drink. The future of brick-and- mortar needs to be able to appeal to the lifestyle of our consumers and the lifestyle of cigars. Brick- and-mortar retail will remain a key part of the overall strategy moving forward.” As part of Altadis USA and Tabacalera’s overall retail strategy, many of the lessons learned early on by Rothman about retail still apply today. One of those is adaptability. JR Cigar and Casa de Montecristo were faced with many logistical issues during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, the company had to implement a work-from-home strategy for all of its employees, including those that worked in the office and call center. For its warehouse employees, the company had to develop a rotating schedule that worked with COVID-19 protocols. There was a notable increase in sales as the demand for cigars increased, but while the sales boost helped the bottom line, it also created a challenge for the company because of its reduced warehouse capabilities. It took a lot of work, but eventually plans and strategies were in place that kept workers safe while allowing the business to keep up with increased demand. The pandemic presented JR Cigar the opportunity to show its customers just how much it values customer service. Despite the pandemic, orders went out in a timely manner. There were some supply chain issues that impacted inventory, but JR Cigar made sure to step up its communications during this time, letting customers know about the status of certain products and going so far as to recommend substitutions if a certain product wasn’t available. “Casa de Montecristo’s retail operations during the pandemic did [the same thing] as most: we learned to be adaptable to the environment,” says Winstead. “Our utmost concern was our staff; we wanted to make sure they felt comfortable and took all measures to safely operate the businesses within local and state guidelines. We also took this time to refresh, remodel and expand several of our locations across the country for the anticipated return of our consumers.” The biggest lesson learned by JR Cigar from the pandemic was the importance of good communication. “As long as you are communicating with your customers and working hard to provide them with the best experience, they will remain loyal,” Libretti shares. “We instituted some great social content with various manufacturers to keep our customers up to date on the industry and how each company was handling it. We made sure to let them know of any delays in their purchase and increased our call center operators to make sure every complaint was heard and taken care of immediately. Now that the world seems to be reopening, we are keeping many of our strategies the same because of how effective they were at keeping our customers happy.” Consumers serve as the centerpiece for everything JR Cigar does, as they have since the company’s inception back in the 1970s. Today, Altadis USA, JR Cigar and Casa de Montecristo all work together to come up with new ideas to engage with consumers. Each division shares its own knowledge and ways of arming their employees with the tools, methods and products to keep its customers happy. Branching Out Since consumers have long been the focus of JR Cigar, it should come as no surprise that they are also at the center of JRCigar’s 50th anniversary celebrations. If it weren’t for the consumers and their loyalty and support, JR Cigar would not be here today and would not have lasted for 50 years in what is arguably a tough and competitive marketplace. Year after year, those working to build JR Cigar up to what it is today have [ 46 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ]