JR Expands Yet Again

From Rich Perelman at CigarCyclopedia:

Love him or hate him – as many retail tobacconists do – there’s little doubt that Lew Rothman is a genius.

Starting with a small store in New York, Rothman’s ruthless discounting operation now dominates the sale of premium cigar sales in the United States, with a mailing list in the half-million range, a catalog that’s equal part promotion, comedy and salesmanship and reported sales of $62 million in 2002. But he is not satisfied.

Now, his empire is expanding to include a leading role behind a new magazine, to be called Cigar Magazine and debut late this year. It’s not his first brush with print.

Beyond his catalogs, Rothman authored two sold-out editions of what he called Lew Rothman’s Cigar Almanac in 1980 and 1981. His new project will be a quarterly magazine to challenge Cigar Aficionado and Smoke.

The first ads for the publication have, of course, appeared in his own on-line service and in his new catalog. He offers a free package of eight cigars (well, there’s a $2 shipping charge) for a two-year subscription at $37.60 (plus the $2). So, you get four issues of 144-plus pages each, which his advertising claims will focus on cigars, a direct shot across the bow of the two other magazines.

It’s not clear how much of the magazine will be advertising and how much will be editorial. However, with a market share guessed at anywhere from 33 to 45 percent of all premium cigars sold in the U.S., he has more leverage than anyone in the industry to demand advertising support from his suppliers.

The initial promotions also promise a full listing of Havana cigar prices each issue, interesting since J-R does not, of course, sell Cuban cigars. But J-R is now controlled by Altadis S.A. of Spain (ok, actually a subsidiary called Tabacalera Cigars International), which purchased a controlling interest from Rothman in October 2003. Just so happens that Altadis is also the controlling concern in Habanos, S.A., the Cuba-based worldwide distribution arm of Cuba’s cigar industry. So, access to information is no problem.

Aside from concerning the other publishers (and possibly some manufacturers who will become advertisers), this is a positive sign for the cigar trade. Rothman’s reach is better than anyone else and his willingness to spend the millions needed to launch a new title shows more signs of the continuing, steady expansion of cigar consumption in the U.S., despite the presence of the anti-tobacco crusade in this country.

Posted on Monday, July 12th, 2004 at 8:52 pm.