Altadis U.S.A. Exhibiting at PCA 2023

After a three-year absence, Altadis U.S.A. will once again exhibit at the PCA Convention & Trade Show.

Technically, this will be Altadis’ first PCA Convention & Trade Show. The last time the cigar company exhibited was in 2019, when the event and the organization that hosts the trade show were known as IPCPR, an acronym for the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. During that event, the organization announced that it would change its name to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA).

Getting Altadis back is a major win for the PCA as Altadis U.S.A. is one of the largest and most prominent cigars in the U.S. It owns the American rights to brands like Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and others. It is also the distributor for Aging Room.

Altadis U.S.A. was one of four large companies that announced that it would not exhibit at PCA 2020 due to a litany of issues with the organization and the event. Ultimately, the 2020 trade show was canceled, but Altadis U.S.A. has not been an exhibitor at the PCA’s two most recent trade shows.

An email sent to Rafael Nodal, head of product capability for Tabacalera USA, which includes Altadis U.S.A., JR Cigar and Casa de Montecristo, was not immediately returned.

Altadis U.S.A. used a smaller 20′ x 20′ space at TPE 2023 to host a barber as part of the launch of its new H. Upmann Barbier line.

While the company traditionally had one large booth that was typically one of the largest on the trade show floor. For 2023, it is opting for three smaller booths for 2023: one 30′ x 30′, one 20′ x 20′ and one 20′ x 10′. This is a similar set-up to the company’s approach to the Tobacco Plus Expo, though it’s unclear if Altadis will use the same booths at PCA as it did for TPE.

Altadis U.S.A. isn’t the only one of the four companies that pulled out following the 2019 trade show that be present at PCA 2023. For the second year in a row, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG)—which includes General Cigar Co., Cigars International and others—will be an exhibitor at the trade show in a space that was purchased by a company that STG acquired. Last year, STG employees were in the Room101 booth; this year, STG’s Forged Cigar Co. will occupy the space initially reserved by Alec Bradley, which STG acquired in February. Unlike Altadis U.S.A., which sought out this space, STG acquired a company that had already paid for its trade show space.

While Drew Estate, another of those four large companies, will not be an exhibitor at PCA 2023, there will be Drew Estate sales representatives on hand. Joya de Nicaragua, whose products Drew Estate distributes in the U.S., will be an exhibitor at PCA 2023. Drew Estate is sending a limited number of sales representatives to assist Joya de Nicaragua, though those representatives will not take orders for Drew Estate products.

The fourth company that pulled out following IPCPR 2019, Davidoff of Geneva USA, will not be exhibiting at PCA 2023.

Also returning for 2023 is AJ Fernandez, which has reserved a 40′ x 40′ booth. AJ Fernandez exhibited at the 2021 trade show, but was not present at PCA 2022.