Cigar prices are going up. Over the the last few days, we’ve published stories about what user fees will look like in 2017; another about one of the largest companies in the industry raising prices and that same company citing the regulatory environment as a reason for its most recognizable face departing. All of these are related to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) new regulations on premium cigars. In the last 90 days, two of the largest companies in the industry—Davidoff of Geneva USA and General Cigar Co.—announced a second set of price increases, following ones done earlier in the year, due to increased regulatory costs. If a cigar manufacturer hasn’t considered raising prices, reading this headline certainly has to make them start to think about it. And my hope is they do think about it, but I also hope more thought goes into it than a knee jerk reaction of Davidoff, General and Padrón did it, so I should too. Price increases need to happen, but a responsible course of action is more than just updating the cost of cigars. Rather, it should be a complete evaluation of running a cigar company under FDA. Based on conversations I’ve ...
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