Weekly News (July 18, 2011)

Editor’s Note: This might upset some people. Here it is, the Weekly News, with little of the news most probably care about. The idea of trying to do a news post that captures ALL of IPCPR accurately is comical to say the least, so a milder form of the news. After the jump, all the non-IPCPR release related news. (Given the amount of news, this will be in a simpler format.) — el niño diablo.

Sam Leccia was barred from the IPCPR trade show due to an injunction filed by Oliva. Details are available here. Toraño, who had distribution plans for Leccia’s new cigar company, had no comment on the matter. More on this to come.

Davidoff officially announced that they had a new North American president, one of many personnel changes that have taken place at Davidoff over the past year

Davidoff Appoints New President for North America

Basel/Switzerland, July 14th 2011. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Oettinger Davidoff Group, Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, announced today the appointment of James (Jim) Young, as the new President North America of Davidoff of Geneva Distribution, Inc. effective September 1st.

After 11 years at the helm of Davidoff’s US Operations, Peter Baenninger, will relocate to corporate headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, to take up a new role as Head of Global Retail effective January 1st 2012.

Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard says: “I am delighted to welcome Jim to Davidoff at this exciting time for our company. The US is of critical importance to our strategic growth plans and Jim is uniquely suited to lead our businesses in the future. With his broad, cross functional, US and international experience, I am convinced he will only add to his track record of success. Our strong portfolio of Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, Cusano, Griffin’s, Zino Platinum and Winston Churchill is a compelling platform for Jim and the team to take our US business to the next level”.

Mr Hoejsgaard continues: “It is Peter’s success in building our retail stores in the US that makes him ideally positioned and particularly qualified to take on this new and important global retail role”.

Jim Young was most recently President Guinness USA and prior to that he was with Diageo in London. From 1985-2001 he was with Joseph E. Seagram & Sons in a range of senior Finance and General Management positions in the US, Asia and Europe, lastly as General Manager Seagram Spain & Portugal. Jim holds an MBA in Finance & Accounting from Columbia University and a BS with highest honors in Marine Transportation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

The CHF 1.3 billion Oettinger Davidoff Group with almost 4,000 employees around the world, traces its roots back to 1875 and remains family owned to this day with two distinctly different businesses: one that is focused on FMCG distribution in the Swiss market and one dedicated to the core business of producing, marketing and retailing premium branded cigars, tobacco products and accessories. The premium branded cigar business include Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, Cusano, Griffin’s, Private Stock, Zino, Zino Platinum and Winston Churchill Cigars. The Oettinger Davidoff Group is anchored in a strong “cropto-shop” philosophy, having pursued a vertical integration from its tobacco fields in the Dominican Republic and Honduras to its worldwide network of 65 flagship stores.

The Orleans Group acquired Don Salvatore

Orleans Group International is proud to announce the acquisition of Don Salvatore cigar accessories. The Don Salvatore brand has a long and distinguished track record in the cigar accessories industry and is known for its high quality products, elegant humidor finishes, and unique designs across its line.

In addition to the added brand, Sam Difiglio, President of Don Salvatore, will be joining Orleans Group as a consultant for the product development team. “Mr. Difiglio’s experience, knowledge, and passion for the industry is evident throughout the current Don Salvatore product line and will be a very welcome addition to the Orleans Group offerings. We look forward to working with Mr. Difiglio and expanding what is already the broadest line of cigar accessories available,” said Steve Harvey, President of Orleans Group.

 

Orleans Group will introduce the Don Salvatore pieces at the annual IPCPR tradeshow, which will be held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas from July 18th to July 21nd.

That’s it, more fun stuff later.

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.