IPCPR 2014

[kurtdesign1]

I am an admitted IPCPR show fan and this year I am as heartbroken as I ever have been for missing it. This morning marks the beginning of the final day at IPCPR82 and I think its time to start the digestion process a bit. What sources of information are you guys following? Are you following anything and IF NOT, what's your reasoning? Have you been surprised by any announcements? Are you intrigued by any?

Frankly, I am LESS jazzed about specific cigars this year than every before. I can't think of more than 3 I am yearning to try (Padron 50th, Illusione ECCJ 20th & Neanderthal). For some reason, the state of the industry and overall stories/tone are what I am infatuated with. Why the hell is that?

I will say I am slightly scared about the apparent lack of urgency surrounding the FDA's impending decisions. Halfwheel put together a wrap of the 3rd day and revealed a startling fact surrounding this. At the beginning of the week the IPCPR put on a seminar regarding pending legislative & FDA regulations. The exact quote from Patrick Legreid was that the seminar "...didn’t offer the kind of attendance that I expected or hoped to see." This is troubling. Very troubling. We're on the cusp of the first major oversight the industry has ever experienced and tobacconists/manufacturers didn't see that as enough reason to rise up and unify? Frightening...

[Kip]

Frankly, I see little to be excited about in terms of new releases. There seems to be relatively few this year, and many of those have been announced in the past several weeks. I see a good bit of reboots in terms of packaging and line extensions, though.

I'm with you on being focused in the state of the industry as a whole....and I think that retailers are largely in the dark about what could be coming down the pike. I'll speculate that it's another facet of IPCPR being decades behind the curve. Instead of focusing on building a tangible network of tobacconists, it's turned into a one-trick pony. IPCPR is just a tradeshow facilitator. A few emails throughout the year about some legislative changes isn't working. The MOST I see on the frontlines (in the shops) is a few flyers dropped on the counter, with the hope that a consumer might stumble onto them and make a phone call or write an email. For the most part, retailers are not invested in IPCPR until it's time to pay their dues and book flights to the show.

Many "tobacconists" today aren't really. Don't get me wrong - there are some left. But, many are glorified cigarette stores that happen to still have a humidor. The number of stores I visit that have local college kids running a cash register who know nothing about cigars is staggering (take my recent "Mr. Drew Estate" story as an example). These folks can go grab another retail job if this one falls through. Do we really expect to have buy-in for the legislative future of an industry the sales folks aren't interested in? Now, the reasoning for this is manifold, I suspect. Slim margins that have dictated shops hiring folks willing to work for less pay? The shrinkage of the number of cigar smokers over past decades when "real" tobacconists were aplenty? I don't know. Whatever the reason, the result is the same.

[Kip]

To clarify, I don't think 100% of the responsibility lies on IPCPR to educate retailers...but I believe more is needed than a tradeshow production. Retailers are responsible as well...how could you not be as tuned in as possible to the industry you rely on for your livelihood? Consumers as well - if we enjoy this hobby, how can we sit idly by while it falls into the past? Everyone involved is to blame....and if we can't figure it out, it will fade into the annals of history.

[kurtdesign1]

While Kip has focused more on the latter part of my initial post, I am still very interested in any user's thoughts on the trade show itself. In fact, Kip's rant is probably a good topic for a new post...

Anyways, has anyone heard about any of the 3 cigars I listed? Anyone at the show and able to share specifics? I don't even think I've heard more than country of origin of each of them.

[IWinchester]

Sorry to jump over you Craig! As an example, my local shop is run by 2 great guys who actually smoke cigars. I'm able to have great conversations with them about countries of origin, new releases, etc. However, I am more up to date on the industry then they themselves are. A few months ago I mentioned that I had submitted my comment to the FDA and was eager to rant and rave with them over the impending doom. Much MUCH to my chagrin, neither of them had even heard about the deeming document!! So I do put a lot of blame on the shops. This one is a great tobacconist (I would gladly call them that) but there isn't a passion that I think is necessary.

Ok Craig, I'll never b able to afford the Padron 50th, but I would poop my pants on purpose to smoke one. I've never never had a Roma Craft, but I follow skip on Instagram and the Neanderthal looks good. The ECCJ reminds me of
Colin from DogWatch, but I've never had an illusions. That will be rectified at the RMCF next month, though!!

Other than that, I'm really looking forward to the Joya Red.



Kid Corona

[Kip]

I have a few Joya Red, and we'll be featuring them on an upcoming show. I'll refrain from any detail about my experience until then, though.


Now that I think about it, that provides no information whatsoever, except neener-neener-neener....

[kurtdesign1]

Ian, you've never had an illusione or Roma Craft! Dude, get to that great shop of yours and pick a couple up. Delicious!


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[Coop]

You ladies hear about someone stealing boxes from the show this year?

[kurtdesign1]

Heard about the under crown pigs but not others. Was it a reoccurring thing?


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[IWinchester]

Dirty thieves! Craig, I would but we don't get any boutiques in MT. (Not until I open up my own shop anyway!) If I had a bigger cigar budget I'd order some online. Mayhaps I'll forgo the B&M for a few weeks and save some dough…


Kid Corona