[kansashat]

A local liquor store owner approached me on the street the other day & proposed that I place a humidor in the "mix shop" side of his liquor store (in Kansas you must sell non alcoholic items in a seperate building or area that has a seperate entrance & no adjoining doors).

Am thinking about it. It would be a chance to make room in the humidors & maybe create some interest in the pass time. Hell, just spreading the love is a good enough excuse.

I have to figure out how we can do this & make each other happy though. I of course would like to make my money back on the cigars & maybe make a little. It would not be a profitable venture, but it might create a bit more traffic for him.

Any thoughts?

He has a tobacco license BTW.

 

[God]

A local liquor store owner approached me on the street the other day & proposed that I place a humidor in the "mix shop" side of his liquor store (in Kansas you must sell non alcoholic items in a seperate building or area that has a seperate entrance & no adjoining doors).

Am thinking about it. It would be a chance to make room in the humidors & maybe create some interest in the pass time. Hell, just spreading the love is a good enough excuse.

I have to figure out how we can do this & make each other happy though. I of course would like to make my money back on the cigars & maybe make a little. It would not be a profitable venture, but it might create a bit more traffic for him.

Any thoughts?

He has a tobacco license BTW.

Hat....
Sounds great!!!! Now get set up and wrangle a pass to the RTDA show. Once there load up on all of the freebies and send them to me!!!!!!

 

[wouldestous]

dont see how it could hurt. most grocery stores around here have a little cabinet full of punch, hoyo, macanudo, partagas and one or two other well known brands. lotta people would probably like to have a cigar to puff on while they are having a drink or drinks...

id go with brands that are well known among non-cigar smokers and in popular sizes (robusto, cuban corona, toro etc.) if your aim is to maybe turn some others on to cigars then make sure they are properly cared for. might want to place the cabinet so it doesnt get direct sunlight in order to prevent beetles hatching. make sure some cheap cutters are available for sale nearby...

 

[kansashat]

I ordered a 150 count humi today to replace the 100 count that I will place in the store.
I will maintain the humidity, but temp fluctuations do concern me.
One problem I see is putting enough mild in it. I don't have a lot of mild laying around in my humidors.
Another challenge I anticipate is knowing where to price the dang things. I will want my money back of course (with maybe a small profit) & I want there to be a little in it for him too.
I thought I'd add $.50 per cigar to cover shipping & maybe $2.00 markup & split this 50/50 with the store owner.
For example.....if I paid @3.00 for a Macanudo Lords Cafe, then we will charge $5.50 for this cigar. I don't really know if this is a fair price as I haven't bought a cigar in a smokeshop for some time.
I'd have to get about $11.50 for a DC #4, $7.50 for a RyJ Reserva Real robusto, etc.

 

[Bman]

IMHO I'll tell you what I would put in your stock...find the best cigars you can that are cheap and have a nice looking band, in several sizes...most folks that are buying in a liquor store don't understand cigars...5.00 would be alot of money for a smoke to this type of buyer... I'd also throw in a few good 8.00 to 10.00 sticks for the guy that wants to spend some dough...Bman :w

 

[megasolo]

Well this is what I would do, though I live in California and it sounds like the laws are a lot different...

I would make sure and put the Humidor next to the cash register, or close to it. At least in a high traffic area.
I would make sure the Humidor is glass or plastic so customers can see through it on all sides.
most customers will probably be buying on impulse, so I would stock the humidor with cigars that have nice looking bands.
I would also stock it with cigars that are household names, like montecristo, macanudo, etc.,
remember you want them to enjoy there cigar and come back for more. If one customer has a savoy and another has padron, which one is coming back?

anyway thats my 2 cents :w

 

[kansashat]

Well this is what I would do, though I live in California and it sounds like the laws are a lot different...

I would make sure and put the Humidor next to the cash register, or close to it. At least in a high traffic area.
I would make sure the Humidor is glass or plastic so customers can see through it on all sides.
most customers will probably be buying on impulse, so I would stock the humidor with cigars that have nice looking bands.
I would also stock it with cigars that are household names, like montecristo, macanudo, etc.,
remember you want them to enjoy there cigar and come back for more. If one customer has a savoy and another has padron, which one is coming back?

anyway thats my 2 cents :w

Hey.....didn't you have a birthday recently there "big one"?

Happy Birthday!!!

 

[MoTheMan]

Don't forget that Lew Rothman of JR cigars began his career running his father's convenience grocery stores in Brooklyn, NY. Figured that cigars had a higher turnover than some other products and eventually moved into that business. Got some real funny stories in some of his old catalogs.

 

[kansashat]

Well, am ready to go. The new humidor is charged & running at an even 70%. The 100 count that I am putting in has a reasonably accurate analog hygrometer.
I will put it in on consignment basis. I will maintain ownership of the cigars & humidor. I will also maintain the humidity. I will fill it up & give him his cost per each cigar. I suggested that he mark them up $1 per cigar & he agreed. After 1 month I will inventory & see if we have sold anything. Whatever is missing I will bill him for (I will be providing him a couple of keys for the humidor).
One concern I have is that his wife is selling scented candles & the store smells like a whorehouse. I hope that this does not mess up the smokes.

 

[txmatt]

One concern I have is that his wife is selling scented candles & the store smells like a whorehouse. I hope that this does not mess up the smokes.

Well if that becomes a problem you can switch to selling Acid cigars! u

If this works out for you obtain a bit more counter space and look into the "ambassador" programs smaller botique brands offer. You get swag and free cigars for introducing the factory rep to the store owner.

This also sounds like an ideal place to try Cusano's new Café Robusto cigars in their Celebrity Series (M1, P1, MC and CC). These were released at this year's RTDA, if the cigars are decent I believe they may show up in many small stores around the country. These babies retail for close to a buck each. I think experimenting with your inventory for starters is a good idea, but might I also suggest once you have a cigar for a buck on the counter they will really MOVE.. The resemblance of the CC's band to another particular yellow band will certainly benefit it as well. See here for more details. They have a humidified display case solution to boot:

Good Luck!
Matt