Davidoff Announces Golden Band Award Nominees

On July 19, Davidoff will host its fourth Golden Band Awards as the cigar industry gathers in New Orleans, La. for the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.

The Golden Band Awards serves as not only a black tie dinner, but also a chance for Davidoff to recognize some of its appointed merchants across a variety of categories. There are a total of nine awards—two are given to individuals, while the remaining seven go to retailers who carry the company’s eponymous white label products.

This year 32 different retailers were nominated across the seven categories.

Davidoff has added a new category for “new appointed merchants.” This award honors “the newest members of the Appointed Merchant network based on the first twelve months of sales and implementation of the brand’s programs.”

Nominees are:

• Churchill’s Fine Cigars (Atlanta, Ga.)
• Cigar Realm (Ashland, Va.)
• Harbor Cigars (Destin, Fla.)
• Havana Phil’s Cigar Company (Greensboro, N.C.)
• Tobacco Locker (Port Charlotte, Fla.)

Nominated for Best Merchandising, which is awarded to the retailer who “best meets the Davidoff brand merchandising expectations,” are:

• Club Humidor (San Antonio, Texas)*
• Franklin Cigar (Franklin, Tenn.)
• Queensbury Cigar & Pipe (Queensbury, N.Y.)**
• Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood (Ridgewood, N.J.)*
• Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)**

Nominated for Best Performance (Single Location), which is awarded to the retailer “with a single location that has the highest level of Davidoff brand purchases,” are:

• Blend Bar Cigar (Indianapolis, Ind.)**
• Cigar Box Enterprises (Aventura, Fla.)*
• Georgetown Tobacco & Pipe Store (Washington, D.C.)*
• Maxamar Cigars (Orange, Calif.)**
• Regency Cigar Emporium (East Greenwich, R.I.)*

Nominated for Best Performance (Multiple Locations), which is awarded to the retailer with more than one location “that has the highest level of Davidoff brand purchases,” are:

• Club Humidor (San Antonio, Texas)*
• Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, Fla.)**
• Emersons of Norfolk (Norfolk, Va.)*
• Lone Wolf Cigar Company (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Smoke Inn (Palm Beach, Fla.)*

Nominated for the Davidoff Growth Awards (Single Location), which is awarded to the retailer with a single location “that has the largest percentage and dollar increase of Davidoff brand sales,” are:

• Cigar King (Scottsdale, Az.)
• Cigarz on the Avenue (Winter Park, Fla.)**
• Florez Tobacconist (Summit, N.J.)
• Iwan Ries & Company (Chicago, Ill.)
• Tinder Box (Waldorf, Md.)**

Nominated for the Davidoff Growth Award (Multiple Locations), which is awarded to the retailer with more than one location “that has the largest percentage and dollar increase of Davidoff brand sales,” are:

• Casa de Montecristo (Countryside, Ill.)
• Churchills Cigar Shop (Birmingham, Miss.)
• Diebel’s Sportsmen Gallery (Kansas City, Mo.)**
• Telfords Pipe & Cigar (Mill Valley, Calif.)
• The Cigar Inn (New York, N.Y.)

Davidoff recognizes its “Appointed Merchant of the Year” as that who increases not only the amount of products purchased from Davidoff of Geneva, but also in regards to the percentage of the entire portfolio.

Nominees are:

• Regency Cigar Emporium (East Greenwich, R.I.)*
• Serious Cigars (Houston, Texas)*
• Smoking Lamp (Charleston, S.C.)
• Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)**
• Up Down Tobacco Shop (Chicago, Ill.)

The Industry Service Awards and The Zino Davidoff Legacy Award are awarded to individuals, Davidoff does not announce the nominees until the night of the Golden Band Awards.

Club Humidor, Regency Cigar Emporium and Tobacconist of Greenwich—all of whom have been previously nominated in year’s past—were the only retailers nominated for multiple awards for 2015.

Winners earn the right to carry an exclusive cigar for one year.

*Indicates a retailer who has previously been nominated for a Golden Band Award.

**Indicates a retailer who has previously won a Golden Band Award.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.