Keystone Is Keystone

Keystone, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “something on which associated things depend for support” and “the wedge-shaped piece at the crown of an arch that locks the other pieces in place”. Without the “keystone” in the latter definition, the structure will collapse. This is also the case with our industry’s Keystone Margin: without retailers having the ability to make a reasonable markup, we will collapse. Retail Tobacconists cannot make enough money to sustain themselves without a reasonable markup on single cigars. Anything less than Keystone results in the commoditization of our products, declining margins, and ultimately ‘going out of business’ sales.
 
As a retailer, I do not sell any products that are not Keystone, nor am I interested in supporting any company that does not support my ability to make enough money to survive. Obviously, mail order and internet operations thrive on non-keystone products and deals: they exist to thrive on and undermine the brick and mortar (B&M) keystone marketplace. And our economy proves this is a viable strategy for growth – just look at the big box retailers and discounters in every community. But this market thrives on reducing quality and diversity in exchange for cheap homogenized products. One of the worst and most damaging examples I can think of is the Shop-Rite supermarkets here in NJ, where they have a large selection of premium cigars at retail prices that are unbelievably cheap. I, of course, refuse to shop there. But I am not single-handedly able to make any kind of impact on their bottom line. Obviously manufacturers should refuse to have their premium handmade products sold next to shaving razors and tampons. So what are they doing about it???
  
Ultimately, the Keystone Margin is that which B&M Tobacconists ‘depend on for support’. And if we want to see our industry get new customers, introduce new and innovative products, and survive, we must protect B&M Tobacconists, which means protecting our margins.
 
This year the Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers do in fact have the right to establish a minimum retail price for their products. Lets hope our vendors have the chutzpah to protect their retailers, sacrifice a little in the short-term, and preserve our industry for generations to come.

Education vs. Information

The differences between Information and Education are at the heart of Tobacconist University values and our vision/mission.
  
Distinguishing between the two can be the difference between just living and a life well-lived.
 
Information is typically what you get when you watch the evening news and hear sensational sound bites about Britney Spears, obese Americans, or when you hear politicians spinning their language about S-CHIP, anti-smoking statistics, and a myriad of other things. Information is data, often sensationalized for our limited attention spans. And it is indisputable that we live in the Age of Information. Between the internet, cell phones, tv, print and broadcast media, we are always being bombarded with information. Information is the nutritional equivalent of a twinkie; it may taste good but there is relatively little substance or value in it.
  
Information is about Quantity, while Education is about Quality.
 
Education is Information put into context with a perspective grounded in values and principles: and that is what Tobacconist University is about.
 
This topic is resonating with me right now because we are making a big push to enhance our already unparalleled glossary and turn it into a multi-media encyclopedia. We have endeavoured to find every tobacco glossary (in the English language) and make sure we don’t miss a thing. In that process, we have discovered an overwhelming amount of Information, opinion, and/or subjective interpretation. When we find words worthy of the TU glossary, we go through our library of books, cross-reference (3x), call experts, and then re-create the most valuable definition possible: after all, we are trying to create a timeless educational curriculum.

But, I am astounded at the amount of crap/information in the marketplace. There is very little content created with a long-term vision and an eye towards Quality. Much like the world we live in, Quantity often trumps Quality, so people don’t even attempt to create accurate and compelling content. Fortunately, you can rest assured that TU will never take this easy way out. Sadly, this trend carries through most of the Information we find on the internet. Even emails/newsletters I receive through the industry are full of erroneous or absurd information. I get a handful of so-called “expert” emails on a regular basis and they are always filled with incorrect information. Many of these so-called “experts” (I will call them “Fakeperts“) are merely pontificators trying to position themselves as thought-leaders in an effort to sell you products: that is one of the reasons TU does not sell any products or advertisements. And ultimately, these Fakeperts are doing harm to our industry and consumers while they try to make a quick buck.
 
Education requires research, perspective, and context. Consequently, Education requires vision, commitment, and integrity. These are the values that will help “Preserve Luxury Tobacco for Generations to Come”. Since we are an open-source Academic Curriculum, we encourage credible Tobacconists to contribute their knowledge to our institution. In that process we can help aggregate, promote, and strengthen the foundation upon which this industry is built: which is great Tobacconists! Without great, credible, and professional Tobacconists, our precious industry will die.
 
So, Educate yourselves!!! And help us Educate!!!

TU vs. CCU

Internet traffic is a funny thing. Today I woke up to see that we got hundreds of visits from Sweden. Some days we are big in Europe, Asia, Latin America, but mostly our visitors come from the north eastern part of the United States. Since we haven’t really marketed TU, we rely on word of mouth and passionate individuals to spread the word. But there is always a bit of mystery when people in the middle east or far off countries find TU. Fortunately, once they find us, they are hooked and we see them coming back regularly.
 
Between Sweden and the cigarfamily website today, I noticed we get lots of hits/links to Cuban Cigar University (CCU). Frankly, I’m just glad people visit, but I thought this would be a good time and place to clarify the relationship and differences between TU and CCU.
 
I started CCU as the in-house training college for my retail Tobacconists, following a research and educational trip to Cuba in 1996. It became so popular that we started giving public courses and Certifications to consumers as well as Tobacconists. By 2003, we incorporated CCU into TU and the TU website. CCU was cigar focused. TU is a much broader and more ambitious project intended to benefit ALL retail Tobacconists, consumers, and the industry. Ultimately, it just seemed selfish to hoard all of the CCU work just for ourselves, so the concept of TU emerged. Today there is a CCU website (address) and people all over the world find it and use it on a regular basis: I think the word “Cuba” carries a lot of weight in consumers’ minds. But that site is really just the Tobacconist University site. So, in case you are wondering why the content is the same, that is because Tobacconist University emerged from Cuban Cigar University. And hopefully, one day, the word TOBACCONIST will carry as much weight as Cuba…

Jorge Armenteros, CMT

Make Up Girl vs. Certified Tobacconist

I experienced extreme shock this Friday when my girlfriend dragged me to the mall for a sale at "bloomies". Just before the main event, she pushed me into a giant apothecary/beauty product store. While I doubt the veracity of anything they tell me in that store (i.e. look younger , eliminate wrinkles, etc…) I was impressed with their retail strategy. As we were waiting for an atomic sized sample of pomade or cream, I noticed that the Colorologist/Makeup artist/creamologist (or whatever) was wearing a pin that said Color Specialist. Now, this young lady was barely old enough to drive, so dispensing cream seemed like a challenge, yet she proceeded to tell me about her extensive training in “Color”. How she traveled to the big city for days of intensive courses and her certificate. In addition, she will also be receiving another degree in another female beauty ritual which I can’t remember at this moment.
  
Dear TOBACCONISTS, THIS IS A WAKE UP CALL. If the barely post pubescent girl at the make up store has credentials and certification, WE ARE LONG OVERDUE. Retail Certification through Tobacconist University is free for retailers, and we are far behind even the most absurd of industries. My advice is start studying!!! It is time to invest in our own CREDIBILITY and FUTURE. If society thinks that makeup girls at the mall are more knowledgeable than Tobacconists, then we will never survive.

Make your contribution towards “PRESERVING LUXURY TOBACCO FOR GENERATIONS TO COME”, and improving your own businesses. Check out the new, and evolving Certified Tobacconist Page: this will be the place where TU aggregates, promotes, and shows off the world’s greatest Tobacconists: all it takes is a little Focus and Commitment to be the best. Currently we are Certifying Salesforce Tobacconists (CST) so that they may go out and administer the test to Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT): and all of this is free! We are building the brotherhood and proving to the world that our Credibility, Professionalism, and Value are real. Earn your Pin!

Retail Shoplifters

These animals are real pros. They have the nerve/confidence to steal while a Tobacconist is in the Humidor with them. It does not seem to slow them down one bit. Adding insult to injury, they disheveled cigars, boxes, packaging, and they purchased ONE cigar: most shoplifters purchase at least one inexpensive item, probably thinking that is their ’smoke screen’.

Retail Tobacconists deal with this insanity every day and they must be educated and warned. Besides, attorneys are on the wrong side of justice at least 50% of the time, and I can’t count on law enforcement helping us at all. The last criminal we prosecuted (we were lucky enough to catch him) merely had to pay back the cost of one cigar, yet he stole dozens. That is a joke since it cost us and the legal system hundreds of hours just to be compensated twenty bucks.

This, and many more videos will become part of the Tobacconist University Service College section on Retail Theft/Shoplifting. It costs us over ten thousand dollars a year per store just to compensate for the losses; as if retail wasn’t difficult enough. I hope these images will help us survive. And I hope these animals are not breeding and producing another generation of degenerates.

Carry An Unlit Cigar

  

I urge you, beg, and plead with you to carry an unlit cigar with you everywhere you go, as often as possible!!! This silent act can snowball and have a positive, lasting effect… I’m just not sure how, just yet.

Why beg and plead with my fellow cigar smokers and Tobacconists to carry an unlit cigar with them? Well perhaps I am selfish. But maybe we are onto something. We have to promote a good, positive and healthy image, and that is impossible to do since we have been banned from the rest of civil society. And most cigar smokers are good, positive, and healthy people. I rarely see people on the streets, malls, or in public places with cigars anymore. That is because we have been ostracized. I get coughed at and mocked by children as well as adults. THEY ARE WINNING. And we are retreating to our backyards.

I often have a partially smoked cigar in my hand. I walk into stores, restaurants, hotels, anywhere and everywhere. It is part of the condition of modern man, there is rarely enough time to finish a great cigar without getting interrupted or having to do something. So, I let my cigars extinguish and then I tote them along whenever possible. My hands like the feel of it and I often put it in my mouth to remind me of the joy I will soon be rewarded with. Ironically, partially smoked cigars smell bad. But that doesn’t bother me. And if it bothers other people, then maybe they will prefer us to light them up.

But I am inspired to compel my luxury tobacco loving brothers to carry unlit cigars because I have been harassed far too many times this year. Simply put, Smokerism (the hatred and discrimination of smokers) has gotten out of hand. I was at the county fair, walking into a barn and a handful of children ran up to me and verbally attacked me: “put it out”, “you can’t smoke”, “you’re going to die”, “the hay will catch fire”, “save the animals”,… etc. As if I was going to set all of the cows on fire. The cigar was not lit. A couple of months ago at the balloon festival I thought festival goers might just lynch me. Someone told me my cigar “is going to blow us all up”. As if I was the guy piloting the balloon; I was just spectating… but the list goes on. Just last week I was leaving a casino, getting my car and two minutes into the process the attendant looks up and asks me “Is that lit?”. And I said “If you need to ask….”. And she said, “well it smells”. And I said, “Oh well, where there is smoke there is fire and you have no right to avoid odor-annoyance”. And then I wish I said your perfume smells like (insert expletive here)… but I didn’t. These tall tales, and many more similar ones, are completely true. I can’t take more than a few steps some days without being chastised. Well, (insert expletive here) you!

Please carry your cigars on you. Show the world we are not pariahs, social deviants, or demons. People must become desensitized to our passions because the current level of hysteria is driving them mad. We have rights. You have rights. Let’s respect each other.

Shoplifting Scumbags

Retail is Guerrilla Warfare. While most customers are pleasant and wonderful, occasionally retail Tobacconists unwittingly service thieving scumbags with no respect for social order or any sense of morality. The first lesson of retail shoplifting is that you Cannot profile. You can never predict who will steal from you. In this case, these middle aged villains took us for $667 on Labor day in less than two minutes. Just going through the videos to find these pictures to post has made me sick to my stomach. We gave these animals great service, said please and thank you, and welcomed them into our home/humidor with open arms. In return, they stole hundreds of dollars worth of Padron 26’s and Ashton VSG’s. I imagine these are the kind of people who beat their dogs and children; they are vile humans. While I am not a violent person, I wish I was there to exact some justice. Ironically, our Manager walked into the humidor to see if he could be helpful, and the husband blocked his view while his haggardly wife continued to pillage us: did I mention it was $667!!!

Obviously these (insert expletive here) were very professional. We did almost all we could to prevent their thieving. The major challenge for retail Tobacconists is giving their customers enough space to enjoy their shopping experience, and having a walk-in humidor is a HUGE risk. But I am passionate about providing that space for our customers so that they may be surrounded by our amazing products. It is a catch 22, and I fully understand why many Tobacconists separate and protect their most valuable products. I hope we never have to resort to that, but we live in a crazy mixed up world where anything is possible.

I hope that our customers appreciate how hard we work to keep prices reasonable and to make their shopping experience as pleasurable as possible. Unfortunately there are always rotten people around to spoil the party. This was our biggest one day theft in over twelve years of business, and I desperately hope that it doesn’t happen again. If you see these animals on the street, I hope you will feel disgusted and compelled enough to kick them in the shins.