Davidoff Announces Golden Band Nominees

Davidoff has announced the retailers eligible for this year’s Golden Band Awards. The awards, which began in 2012, are presented by the manufacturer to retail accounts of its flagship Davidoff brand who excel in a variety of categories. In addition to an award handed out at the manufacturer’s black tie dinner during the annual IPCPR convention and trade show, the winners of each category gain access to the Davidoff Golden Band cigar.

A total of eight awards are given, six of which go to retail stores.

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

• Briar Patch (Sacramento, Calif.)
• The Briar Shoppe (Houston, Texas)
• Burns Tobacconist (Chattanooga, Tenn.)*
• Cup O’ Joes (Queensbury, N.Y.)
• The 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 (Indianpolis, Ind.)*
• Georgetown Tobacco & Pipe Store (Washington, D.C.)*
• Jack Schwartz Importer (Chicago, Ill.)
• Regency Cigar Emporium (East Greenwich, R.I.)
• The Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)**

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:

• Ambassador Fine Cigars (Scottsdale, Ariz.)**
• Barclay-Rex (New York, N.Y.)
• Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, Fla.)**
• Humidor of Westmont (Westmont, Ill.)**
• Tinder Box Cigars (Charlotte, N.C.)**

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:

• 8 to 8 Cigars (Villa Park, Ill.)
• Cigarz On The Avenue (Winter Park, Fla.)
• Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, Calif.)*
• The Smoke Shop of Naples (Naples, Fla.)
• Smoky’s Fine Cigars (Bloomfield, Mich.)

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:

• Ambassador Fine Cigars (Scottsdale, Ariz.)**
• Anthony’s Cigar Emporium (Tucson, Ariz.)*
• Humidor of Westmont (Westmont, Ill.)**
• Serious Cigars (Houston, Texas)*
• Tinder Box Cigars (Charlotte, N.C.)**

Finally, nominated for Appointed Merchant of the Year, which is awarded to the retailer “with the largest percentage and dollar increase of the complete Davidoff of Geneva Distribution portfolio,” are:

• Blend Bar Cigar (Indianpolis, Ind.)*
• Cigar Box (Miami, Fla.)
• Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, Calif.)*
• Tinder Box Cigars (Charlotte, N.C.)**
• The Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)**

There are two other awards, the Industry Service Awards and The Zino Davidoff Legacy Award, those awards are presented to individuals and Davidoff has not announced nominations.

*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.