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Cuban
cigar sales on the rise in Africa
Cigar
News | 1 March 2013 |
Posted
by Jeandré Hartman of Cigar Affection
Jorge Luis Fernandez Maique, Habanos S.A. Marketing vice president.
By the end of
December 2012, Habanos S.A. has raked in $416 million (R3744
million) worth of revenues, up a solid 6 percent in sale gains compared to the previous year. Those figures show the strength and the positive trend of the company’s operations, said Jorge Luis Fernandez Maique, Habanos S.A. Marketing vice president.
During his keynote speech at the opening of the 15th Habano Festival International Seminar, before a turnout of delegates and businesspeople from some 70 nations, the executive said that in a region-by-region sale breakdown, Eastern Europe sported gains in units and revenues, while the Asia-Pacific area, despite its slumping pace in units sold, it did grow in terms of revenues.
Europe, with steady figures as far as units are concerned, skidded in total sales due to the ongoing situation hitting the southern part of the continent, with Spain and Portugal bearing the brunt of that downfall.
As to geographical regions, Fernandez Maique said that Western Europe remained steady in terms of volumes. However, they plunged 5 percent in overall revenues.
“We have seen the damages caused to the Spanish market,” said Maique. “There has been an undeniable increase in the Middle East, Asia and
Africa.”
In the case of Asia, despite a decrease in units sold, the region put good numbers on the board in terms of revenues, Mr. Maique went on to say. Out of the top ten markets for Cuban cigars, with the sole exception of Spain (-8 percent), Greece and the UK (-3 percent), the rest of the nations on this list grew, a condition that somewhat offset the decrease in the Spanish market, which continues to be the number one.
Today, the number of Casa del Habano stores is set at 143 in 66 countries, Mr. Maique pointed out before executives from his own company and officials from Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX).
In sales per brand, Romeo y Julieta is clearly topping the chart, followed by Montecristo and José L. Piedra, though in terms of revenues no brand beats Cohiba.
Spain continues to be the number-one world market for Habanos; Russia is going stronger with double-digit increases, and sales in Cuba ratcheted up 2 percent. Similar upticks were also reported in Canada, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
Cigar
Affection will offer a clearer insight into these figure in a
follow up article.
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