So what I heard you say here is that we should all go buy cigars today? Yes sir!
Lol... ain't funny how we always hear what we want to hear? ;>
I can't speak for DE today, but historically they implemented price increases the month prior to the IPCPR affording retailers the opportunity to buy at the old price before the next cycle. I have no clue if they have or will be introducing any price increases in 2015.
As for increasing prices in general, I can tell you at the manufacturing end you always hate to implement any price increases as you are always concerned that they will impact the volume of sales. When you own and operate a factory it means your longterm success is dependent upon steady and continued sales, in short, if you are making 50,000 cigars a day, it means you must sell 50,000 cigars each day and consumers must smoke 50,000 cigars each days, because tomorrow you are making another 50,000 cigars... Price increases just might upset this careful balancing act so it is always with great trepidation when you implement any price increase.
Because of this, almost all price increases by a factory are enacted solely for the purpose of maintaining a sustainable profit margin to protect the integrity of the blend and the quality of the cigar rather actually increasing the profit margin.
Holding a price point ultimately results in the product becoming a shadow of its former self. Case in point: Antonio y Cleopatra, El Producto and Hav-a-Tampa all use to be handmade premium cigars comprised of exceptional all Havana-grown long leaf fillers in the 1950s and 60s, but in an attempt to maintain their cost to the consumer their respective companies' shaved a penny here and a penny there on their end which resulted in them becoming the machine-made, processed homogenized tobacco products they are today.
No one likes prices increases, but regretfully they are necessary if the desire is to provide the same cigar to the consumer.
From the factory perspective, we would love for there to be no inflationary pressures so we wouldn't ever be forced to make the choice between quality or price increases.
BR,
STS
