The National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) announced on Friday that its 2016 trade show will be its last for the foreseeable future, as the organization will turn its attention and resources to battling legislative issues and educating its retail members. The decision comes after the organization’s board of directors came to the conclusion that tobacco retailers had a sufficient number of other shows to attend, and that fighting the constant attacks on tobacco use and consumption would be a better use of their time and resources. The change is being positioned as a way for them to better serve and protect their 51,000 retail members from continued government encroachment. While NATO’s trade show could be considered tangential to the premium cigar industry, several major companies are exhibitors, including Altadis USA, Drew Estate/Swisher International, CLE, Davidoff of Geneva and General Cigar Co. This year’s list of exhibitors also includes Boutiques by Zucca, Cornelius & Anthony, Curivari, J.C. Newman, Miami Cigar & Co., Nat Sherman, Oliva Cigar Co., Rocky Patel and Ted’s Cigars, among others. Several cigar accessory companies also have booths, including The Lotus Group/Integral, Boveda and K.K. International Corp., makers of JetLine. Additionally, both Cigar Rights of America and the International Premium ...
↧