let's talk about San Cristobal

[JohnS]

I think the reasons for lack of sales may be:

1) The band

2) Sweeter profile cigar

3) Consistency in regards to construction

4) Highest profile cigar is a minuto which is not as popular a vitola as a Corona size or Piramide.

To turn things around for San Cristobal de la Habana, the quickest way is to do two things:

1) Discontinue their two lowest selling cigars by volume

2) Release a limited edition on a popular vitola such as a corona gorda.

[jacksfull]

Perhaps it would help if several distinctive smaller market share brands were brought together under an umbrella; something like "Habano Special Selections". That might raise interest and increase sales for all involved.

[hoyopr]

Funny thing but the one cigar I felt had the best feel in size for myself was the Oficios.

Loved the size unfortunately they didn't do anything for me flavor wise.

I smoke the El Principe or a Trini Reyes as my weekend morning cigar with coffee. I am a creature and either seem to be my best pairing with my coffee.

I don't smoke a lot of large ring gauge cigars so just EP and I enjoy the occasional La Punta.

Branding / band design don't affect my cigar choice.

[bigharpoon]

I think educated consumers like a lot of us who don't care about the band are in the minority, most are attracted to a flashy presentation. Look at Cohiba's presentation, it's so flashy it practically has Las Vegas written on it. I would change it.

I would lower the price as well. This alone keeps me away from buying anything but Principes. Yeah, the others may be good, but more than twice as good? I'm on a budget, as are most people, and why would I spend over $200 on a box of cigars when I can get a box of Principes for half that and that happens to be the vitola that gets all the press to boot? When it comes time to drop some coin on San Cristobal I'm thinking: Principes, no-brainer.

[LLC]

I agree for the cigar aficionado the band is not what counts but for the average consumer it may be a key factor. You only have to look at what has happen in the wine industry with labels and names to see who they are targeting. Maybe a cigar brand that isn't well know or popular could learn something from that approach.

[maxcjs0101]

I personally like the San Cristobal brand but i've never gotten a box of them other than the Principes (and i only bought one) its coz of the price.

Else i'd definitely buy more.

[Bartolomeo]

I love SCDH but only recently, lets say in the last 2 years I have really taken a liking to these guys

Pricing is higher than it should be

The Torreon jar cigar is excellent and a shame its not a regular production profile

Bart

[RickHendeson]

I'm fairly deep on Principe but the construction issues can get a little frustrating at times. Too many tight draws

[cigarbreak]

I have not smoked more than the El Principe but from a purley marketing/business perspective (noob here so don't claw my eyes out lol): Seriously Re release a couple poor selling vitolas as Añejados which would give customers the feeling that there is history and allure to be smoked and experienced; change the band while similtaneously feeding customers more brand history through various marketing strategies (box art, get cigar loving celebs to endorse them); give the public consumer more description of the profile being sweet and dark. Introduce a more recently popular vitola like a short robusto or Petit no2 with some of the new marketing as above. I would oppose to announcing a discontinuation of a vitola specifically for this marca.

The el principe imo is strong enough for a cigar during and after a large savoury meal, but also sweet enough to be enjoyed as a dessert. I can only imagine how tasty the other vitolas are.

[Stogieninja]

I think the general consensus has been formed: decent cigar, boring presentation, priced too high.

[thecrowder]

Give us your opinion as to the reasons why? While the Principe is a moderate success, you can't run a whole brand on a minuto

I personally find that the names and sizes to be confusing. I know that the principe is the small one, but, which one is the pyramid? Which one is the churchill? Do they have a corona or corona gorda? Also, why are they so expensive?

If you were "CEO of San Cristobal" how would you change it up? let's say you have a8 months to change its fortunes around before HSA cuts it.

I'd do a couple of things, first being to rename the cigars to match up with either sizes in the Siglo range or to how Montecristo does some of their naming or at least something a little easier to understand. For example, if we go the monte route than the La Punta become the #2 and the principe becomes a #4.

Next, I'm cutting the La Fuerza and El Morro. With those cuts, I'm now introducing a robusto, corona gorda, a robusto supreme, which would be a 60x127 monster, and a Double Robusto - T, which would be 52x166.

Finally, I'm going to experiment with the cohbia maduro wrapper to see if we can't create a secondary line that we can introduce next year.

After those changes are done, I'm having my personal roller make me a lancero using the principe blend. In addition to it being my personal cigar, I'm also giving it out to regional distributors in hopes that one of them will make it into a regional cigar.

[canadianbeaver]

Boring band? Like a QDO or Montecristo? Or a garter belt like an Opus X.

Love a box of Oficios open and one put away. Which reminds me. Better get some for my hoarding shelf.

And same for the La Principes before a buddy of mine cleans out the free world.

TOM

[DrunkenMonkey]

What's wrong with the San Cristobal bands? I think they're fine. I also think the cigars are very good. I regularly smoke Principes, and occasionally El Morros. When they're good they're great. I guess you could think of ways to make them look or taste more like another brand, but then why not just buy that other marca? I would leave them as is, except wouldn't a lancero be great?

[Stogieninja]

Monte isn't particularly attractive but it's got recognition, and the QdO has a brighter color. The SCdlH is just ugly.

[ErikB]

2 reasons why I seldom smoke them - one: the price, two: inconsistent quality in my experience.

I love the bands, but agree with Smallclub there.

[in0gravity]

Add tubes/ 3-5 pack aluminium tins for the line and....use the new rebranded look to replace Monte opens in duty free

Agree with this. Add tubes and introduce 5 tin packs for the El Principe. Maybe a Limited Edition will help the brand to get noticed more.

regards

Lars

[LordAnubis]

It's all about marketing. For FoH member and other people who know about cigars? Sure, change pricing around maybe play with the sizes.

However a lot of cigar sales come from duty free, and whenever you go to a duty free the SCDLH are hiding in the back somewhere and the boxes aren't exactly appealing to the market. Nor is there a good story behind them. They are new, i guess there's that? But you're never going to sell anything if it's not in front of the buyer to purchase! It all comes down to marketing in my opinion. Same goes for all the other smaller brands.

[harpshouse]

I've only smoked one (Oficios from memory), and quite enjoyed it.

But I think the various reasons above cover it...particularly in regards to new BOTL / SOTL. Why would they pay for a relative unknown when for the same price they could get a box of a classic stick like the Monte 2? Drop the price a bit, and make different box profiles available (5, 10 packs) to promote people to dip their toes in and I think it would help.

I don't buy about the band though. Some Cubans have very bland bands, so the "competition" on that front is far less. It seems NCs are more band focussed, but it's a completely different market and sales pitch.

[Smallclub]

I personally find that the names and sizes to be confusing. I know that the principe is the small one, but, which one is the pyramid? Which one is the churchill? Do they have a corona or corona gorda? Also, why are they so expensive?

I'd do a couple of things, first being to rename the cigars to match up with either sizes in the Siglo range or to how Montecristo does some of their naming or at least something a little easier to understand. For example, if we go the monte route than the La Punta become the #2 and the principe becomes a #4.

Next, I'm cutting the La Fuerza and El Morro. With those cuts, I'm now introducing a robusto, corona gorda, a robusto supreme, which would be a 60x127 monster, and a Double Robusto - T, which would be 52x166.

Finally, I'm going to experiment with the cohbia maduro wrapper to see if we can't create a secondary line that we can introduce next year.

You might do a bit of home work.

The El Principe is a minuto, not a marevas (No.4). The La Punta is a campana, it's not a pyramid. And the La Fuerza (gordito) is already very close to a corona gorda.

And I can't see why the names would be disturbing - do you also have a problem with Epicure No.X, Regios, Serie A, Exhibicion No.X, Non Plus, Famosos? All names that don't give any indication of the size…

As for the maduro wrapper suggestion: if there is ONE blend that doesn't need a maduro gimmick (by its organoleptic qualities) it's precisely the SCDLH blend…

[anacostiakat]

Frankly, the prices are the problem IMHO. I like the El Principe and the El Morro well enough.

Do not care for the La Fuerza and really can not remember having a La Punta as the size it not one I go to often.

The ROI on these just is not good enough. Sadly.

[CaptainQuintero]

Branding might be on the table already I'm guessing, look at how Cohiba has changed, so they know that marketing is a significant issue.

What worries me is they get it so wrong sometimes. They can nail it ie the old school Ramon Allones bands which certainly made product move fast. But they can create such ugly and naff looking clashing bands like Cuaba, SCdlH and Vegas Robaina.

I don't think that its a coincidence that the cigars with the worst presentation and ugliest bands seem to struggle the most: Cuaba, VR, SCdlH.

In the shop/duty free when the average buyers are deciding what to grab, presentation is a big factor. You associate boring/ugly presentation with boring/ugly tasting cigars.

The Monte opens I'd assume make 80% of their sales based on the eye catching box and presentation.

[Smallclub]

In the shop/duty free when the average buyers are deciding what to grab, presentation is a big factor. You associate boring/ugly presentation with boring/ugly tasting cigars.

San Cristobal is a niche brand, it's not distributed everywhere and no one expect it to sell like Montecristo or RyJ.

As for marketing everybody here seems to forget that the first LCDH releases were the Oficios, Mercaderes and Murallas, that came in a neat packaging…

[CaptainQuintero]

 

San Cristobal is a niche brand, it's not distributed everywhere and no one expect it to sell like Montecristo or RyJ.

 

As for marketing everybody here seems to forget that the first LCDH releases were the Oficios, Mercaderes and Murallas, that came in a neat packagingâ¦

The LCDH releases sold well though right? At the very least still better than regular production levels?

[Lant63]

Give us your opinion as to the reasons why? While the Principe is a moderate success, you can't run a whole brand on a minuto

I personally find that the names and sizes to be confusing. I know that the principe is the small one, but, which one is the pyramid? Which one is the churchill? Do they have a corona or corona gorda? Also, why are they so expensive?

If you were "CEO of San Cristobal" how would you change it up? let's say you have a8 months to change its fortunes around before HSA cuts it.

I'd do a couple of things, first being to rename the cigars to match up with either sizes in the Siglo range or to how Montecristo does some of their naming or at least something a little easier to understand. For example, if we go the monte route than the La Punta become the #2 and the principe becomes a #4.

Next, I'm cutting the La Fuerza and El Morro. With those cuts, I'm now introducing a robusto, corona gorda, a robusto supreme, which would be a 60x127 monster, and a Double Robusto - T, which would be 52x166.

Finally, I'm going to experiment with the cohbia maduro wrapper to see if we can't create a secondary line that we can introduce next year.

After those changes are done, I'm having my personal roller make me a lancero using the principe blend. In addition to it being my personal cigar, I'm also giving it out to regional distributors in hopes that one of them will make it into a regional cigar.

SCDH can't be used as a regional. An LCDH version is a different story all together though.

[Colt45]

I've no idea why they don't do well, but I personally don't give them much thought - part of the problem, I guess.

As for how to fix it, I guess I'd look for a way to get more people to try them. Perhaps a three pack sampler free with box purchase ( box of any marque ), or a stand alone three or five pack sampler priced as to make it hard to resist giving a shot.....