Cigar Weekly

CIGAR merchants like JJ Fox and Robert Lewis were originally not only retailers but importers and distributors of cigars from Caribbean and Meso-American countries including Cuba, Indonesia and the Philippines, writes Pieter Tesch.

It was after the Second World War that most merchants concentrated on retail alone. Over the years, the number of specialist tobacconists and importers/agents dwindled, but now, under a double whammy of the credit crunch and anti-smoking legislation, it makes sense for the remaining merchants to return to the import and distribution business.

This is the approach of JJ Fox, whose director Robert Emery said that with margins under pressure it made "perfect sense to streamline our business and start again importing and distributing cigars, other tobacco products and accessories".

Mr Emery explained that with the exception of Saint Louis Rey, all Cuban cigars are now imported by Hunters & Frankau as the sole agents for Habanos, but that there was still enough scope to represent other Caribbean and Meso-American cigar brands to compete with Hunters and Davidoff.

"We already had a close relationship with TOR Imports and when it was intimated to us that the firm was not averse to us buying the business, we decided to do so last year," he added.

The acquisition brought the agency a whole range of leading non-Cuban handmade brands like the Dunhill-signed range as well as Arturo Fuente, Padron, Ashton, Oliva, Charatan and Jose Marti amongst others and several pipe tobaccos.

But given the pressure on the margins of the core specialist tobacconist products, it was very important for JJ Fox that the acquisition of TOR brought with it agencies for luxury accessories, said Mr Emery.

He said it is a sign of the times that this part of the business has continued to grow in importance in value and volume.

In particular, the agency for ST Dupont had not only brought into the business one of the world's most loved luxury lighters, but ST Dupont was continuing to expand in branded luxury wares like leather and jewellery.

Such up-market items fit in well with the specialist tobacconist concessions JJ Fox operates in Harrods and Selfridges, and they do not break the rules on crossover advertising between tobacco and non-tobacco products.

That may be so, and while there is no doubt that ST Dupont wallets, silver cufflinks and tiepins look wonderful, it is hoped that when customers visit their favourite tobacconist, they will still be able to continue to look at, smell and feel the fine cigars on display.

Sadly, planned legislation threatens to banish them from view, leaving us to inspect only luxury giftware, from shaving equipment to tiepins.

But it is to be hoped that that such trusted specialists like JJ Fox of St James, Shervington's of High Holborn and Smith's of Charing Cross Road will continue to service the faithful for the immediate future.