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A Slice of Americana
Since
the discovery of America over 500 years ago, cigar smoking has been an integral part of American
history and folklore. The early Native Americans smoked crudely rolled leaves of tobacco, and
at one time the tobacco leaf was used as currency. Over the years, cigars have become associated
with numerous American celebrations: births, birthdays, personal and business accomplishments.
In politics, the cigar imagery portrayed in backroom caucuses is familiar to all. In short, cigar
imagery has been woven into many aspects of American life.
The company known today
as Altadis U.S.A. had its beginnings in 1918 when Julius Lichtenstein, President of American
Sumatra Tobacco Co., leaf specialists, brought together six independent cigar manufacturers.
The six had been competing for sales in local markets with regional brands. Achieving full cooperation
among the six was a slow process, and it wasn't until 1921 that the Consolidated Cigar Corporation,
predecessor to Altadis U.S.A., was officially formed. |  | | One
of the original six, G. H. Johnson Cigar Co., manufactured a brand called Dutch Masters. This
became the new corporation's flagship brand. Over the years, through constant promoting and national
advertising in print, and later television, Dutch Masters was built into one of today's biggest
dollar volume cigar brands in the United States. The brand was by promoted by such famous celebrities
as Ernie Kovacs, Sid Caesar and Danny Thomas. |
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1926, Consolidated purchased the G.H.P. Cigar Co., makers of the El Producto brand, which was
promoted by the late actor and comedian George Burns. Even after his tenure as brand spokesman
ended, Burns remained intimately identified with the trademark, smoking a reported 250 El Producto
Queens a month. In all of his personal appearances through age 100, he was never seen without
has favorite El Producto cigar.
Julius Lichtenstein made additional acquisitions
over the years. Then, in 1945, he was succeeded by Alfred Silberman. When Alfred died in 1948,
his son, Samuel "Buddy" Silberman became President. His name became legendary in the cigar world. |
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What's in a name? Dependability.
For superior satisfaction cigar after cigar, smokers know they can rely on our world-famous
brands."
JANELLE ROSENFELD
V.P. of Advertising |
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In
1956, the company acquired Muriel Cigars from P. Lorillard. The brand's ad theme - "Why don't
you pick me up and smoke me sometime!" - featuring commercials starring Edie Adams, became legendary.
In the 1970's Susan Anton succeeded Edie Adams as the Muriel girl.
The purchase
of Muriel sparked dramatic growth in market share and profits, drawing the attention of Gulf
& Western which acquired Consolidated Cigar in 1968. This marked a new era of expansion. The
company entered the premium, hand-made cigar business through the formation of the Cuban Cigar
Brands division in the Canary Islands. Pepe Garcia, a major Cuban manufacturer whose factory
in Cuba was nationalized by the Castro regime headed the division and expanded it by acquiring
Moro Cigar Co. and its Primo Del Rey trademark. In the early 70s, Consolidated became a factor
in the pipe tobacco industry with the purchase of Sutliff Tobacco Co., manufacturer of Mixture
79 and other pipe tobacco brands.
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"If you don't know where
you're going, any road will take you there. We, however, draw on in-depth knowledge of our market
to target our advertising with precision."
JAMES COLUCCI
Executive Vice
President |
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1983, Golf & Western sold Consolidated Cigar Corporation to five of its senior managers. Sixteen
months later, the company was purchased by MacAndrews and Forbes, the holding company controlled
by Ronald Perelman. Mr. Perelman installed Theo Folz as President and CEO in August, 1984. Theo
was "born" in the cigar business, and under his leadership a new structure and culture began
to emerge. Corporate politics were replaced by an emphasis on product quality and humanism. In
1986, he acquired the assets of the American Cigar Company, which included the Antonio y Cleopatra,
La Corona and Roi Tan cigar brands. In addition, Consolidated purchased Milton Sherman Tobacco
Co. and the pipe tobacco brands of Iwan Reis & Co. | |
Folz surrounded himself with a sound management team,
people who, like himself, had deep and prideful backgrounds in tobacco as well as people with
strong experience in engineering and finance. In November 1988, he and five members of upper
management, along with Vestar Capital Partners, purchased Consolidated Cigar from MacAndrews
& Forbes. Within several weeks of closing the deal, they made three more acquisitions: Te-Amo
cigars and other brands from Te-Amo / Geryl Corp., Royal Jamaica Cigars from Jamaica Tobacco
Co. and Century Tobacco's pipe tobacco products.
Corporate headquarters were moved
to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where general policy decisions are made. However, under the new culture,
more decision-making power was delegated to local managers.
Early in 1993, the
company was repurchased by MAFCO Holdings Inc., Ronald Perelman's personal holding company. Because
of the previous positive relationship between the two companies, management transition was smooth,
and there were no changes in personnel, responsibilities or company direction. In August, 1996,
Consolidated Cigar Corporation began selling shares to the public.
Then, in January,
1999, the company entered a new and exciting phase: Consolidated Cigar was purchased by Societe
Nationale D'Exploitation Industrielle des Tabacs and Allumettes - SEITA, the former French tobacco
monopoly. The merger of SEITA and Consolidated resulted in the world's largest cigar company
and positioned Consolidated Cigar to be a truly global company in the 21st Century.
In December 1999, Consolidated Cigar Corporation / SEITA entered into an agreement with
Spanish tobacco giant Tabacalera S.A. This new tobacco company was named ALTADIS, S.A. ALTADIS
stands for Alliance Tobacco Distribution. As a result of this merger, Hav-A-Tampa was brought
into the fold and new facilities were added. The new enterprise became the world's largest cigar
company with over 7,000 employees worldwide. In September 2000, the parent company purchased
50% of Habanos S.A., owner of most of the Cuban trademarks in the world and franchiser of the
Casa del Habano shops. The final merger, resulting in today's company, was completed in early
2008 when Altadis S.A. merged with Imperial Tobacco, headquartered in the UK.
Today, Altadis U.S.A. operates production facilities in the
Dominican Republic, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Virginia
and Florida. The company also has production affiliations
in Mexico, Brazil and Holland. Because of its superior buying
clout, Altadis U.S.A. is able to purchase the finest tobacco
leaves from all over the world. Distribution in the United
States is conducted through Altadis U.S.A.'s own field sales
organization selling through a network of tobacco and candy
distributors, direct buying retail chains and specialty tobacco
shops.
The
company owns an enviable stable of trademarks. Hand-made brands include: A. Turrent, Cabinet
Selección, DaVinci, Don Diego, Don Melo, Edición Limitada, Gispert, Havana Sweets, H. Upmann,
Henry Clay, Juan Lopez, Las Cabrillas, Maria Guerrero, Montecristo, Omar Ortez Originals, Onyx
Reserve, Playboy, Playboy by Don Diego, Por Larrañaga, Primo Del Rey, Quintero, Quintessa, Romeo
y Julieta, Royal Jamaica Gold, Saint Luis Rey, Santa Damiana, Santa Rosa, Seijas Signature, Te-Amo,
Trinidad, Vega Fina and more. Domestic and premium machine made-brands include AyC, Backwoods,
Black & Blue, Dutch Masters, El Producto, Erik, Hav-A-Tampa, Muriel, Phillies and others. The
company is also the largest supplier of private label pipe tobacco in the U.S.
The company's mission, simply stated, is to provide the highest quality products at a fair price
in every category, to give the best service to its customers and to provide an outstanding working
environment for its employees.
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