Tobacco Business

[ 50 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] “I wanted to create an environment that was different from every other cigar lounge,” he says. “I wanted something that was unique, something that whether you’re in shorts and a t-shirt or a suit and tie, we were a completely comfortable casual environment that everyone was welcome at. With regards to our selection, I wanted to present some of the best cigars of our industry.” Embargo Cigars doesn’t have any sort of membership program because Froman wants to ensure the store remains open and accessible to all. With the store’s humidor only measuring 800 square feet, Froman works hard to ensure that the 900 SKUs packed into it are those that will appeal to his store’s customer base. Figuring out what products to feature in his store was one of the defining moments for his upcoming foray into tobacco retail. He wanted to offer his customers something unique that they wouldn’t find at any other store in the area. This is what drew Froman toward smaller “boutique” brands that were making exceptional cigars, simply on a smaller scale. Froman’s love for smaller brands went far beyond the product. He understood the challenges many of these manufacturers faced while squaring off against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its strict regulations. “Because of the FDA, it’s challenging for these smaller manufacturers to really become as creative as they should be able to, but I wanted to have a cigar lounge that really kind of celebrated that change in our industry— going from those big core companies to the smaller [companies], kind of like the craft beer revolution of the ’90s.” says Froman. After he decided to open his own cigar store and lounge, Froman attended that year’s International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) trade show and convention and shared his retail concept with other retailers who were in attendance. Many retailers told him that building a store around boutique cigar brands would be a mistake and that his store would inevitably fail. He was informed that the standard ratio of core to boutique brands for tobacconists was 80/20, but Froman refused to accept this as being the only option for success. “I apologized and told him that I was dyslexic and [that] I had an idea that I was going to be 80 percent boutique and 20 percent core,” he says. “When we finally opened the shop and counted the stock, we were about 90/10, and the 10 percent that was a slower mover in our shop from day one was that core line. People came and sought out Embargo for the unique selection that we had.” Since opening its doors in 2017, Embargo Cigars has fully embraced the boutique side of the cigar industry, and Froman has plenty of reasons to do so. As a retailer, he knows there are certain brands and products that he must have in stock because customers are most familiar with them, and there’s always going to be some demand for those well-known brands. Froman notes that larger brands, however, don’t offer the same sort of attention and customer service as the boutique companies do. When he first opened his store, a sales representative from a large cigar company showed up at Embargo Cigars and promised to return in a month to help him stock his store’s shelves. He hasn’t heard from or seen that rep again. Froman names several other large companies and notes that he has no idea who his area rep is and often buys these companies’ products from a wholesaler. As a brick-and-mortar retailer, Froman is also concerned with and questions the role that larger manufacturers play in the battle the entire cigar industry is facing against the onslaught of regulations and legislative attacks. “PCA [PremiumCigar Association] is the only organization that fights for our industry, that fights the legislators and helps stop legislation that impacts us,” says Froman. “This is why I love the smaller companies and the boutiques—because they’re the most impacted. The larger companies that have pulled out of the PCA: I wish more retailers understood what that, and how that, impacts their business.” One of the biggest fears Froman has as a retailer is that the boutique companies and those behind them will be put out of business by stringent regulations over the next decade. He’s also worried that the revolution that has ushered in new and memorable releases from those like Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson or Room101’s Matt Booth may be slowed by the overregulation of the cigar category at the hands of the FDA and that the market could be flooded with subpar products. This is a trend he’s already starting to notice occurring now and that he is having to deal with as a retailer. “Companies are pulling out stuff that didn’t sell years ago, but they registered the blend, put a new wrapper on it or a new band, called it something else, and they’re selling it as something new now,” he says. Advocacy and supporting small businesses within the cigar industry are both very important to Froman and his business. “There are some retailers that stand up and fight, and I respect and appreciate and love them for what they do, but not everyone does that,” he says. “I hope enough people get together collectively and understand the impact of what’s happening. How many more years can the PCA actually survive if we don’t have the support of these bigger companies, or the support of more retailers? While you may not feel that the PCA directly impacts you as a store owner or as someone that works in the industry, it certainly does.” With boutique cigar brands currently having their moment, Froman hopes more retailers will get involved in the fight to stave off the regulations that aim to slow down—if not eliminate entirely—the creativity sweeping through the industry. I wanted to create an environment that was different from every other cigar lounge. I wanted something that was unique, something that whether you’re in shorts and a t-shirt or a suit and tie, we were a completely comfortable casual environment that everyone was welcome at. –Abe Froman “ ”