CI Brand Ownership

[blind2reason]

So, I've been doing some research and while this may be common knowledge to some it is surprising to me.

I knew that Cigars International owned 5 Vegas. I did not know that Cigars International owned Man O' War and Ave Maria as well.

I'm curious if CI is just taking the same cigars and slapping new bands on them so they can sell a "new" brand and spike prices. I would hope this not be the case because I have a favorable perception of CI and would like to keep it that way. I have seen them referred to as "the devil" on these forums though, so who knows.

Is CI just buying existing small time cigar makers and marketing with their own brand? Or is it something else?

Also curious if anyone knows of other brands CI currently owns.

 

[Zen Cigar Man]

They own a lot of brands. They also buy the license of a brand name but make it themselves, some Gurkhas for example (or have them made specifically for them), sort of like what Famous does with the CX2. Chances are if you haven't seen it at a B&M and only have seen it at CI, CBid or Cigar.com, they own it or are licensing it.

 

[SmokeProper]

The "devil" reference is about cbid, and it refers to it's addictive nature. It's not a slam on it any other way.

 

[blind2reason]

The "devil" reference is about cbid, and it refers to it's addictive nature. It's not a slam on it any other way.

Well that makes sense, I have to agree they are "the devil" in that sense, I'm flippin addicted to that site.

 

[blind2reason]

They own a lot of brands. They also buy the license of a brand name but make it themselves, some Gurkhas for example (or have them made specifically for them), sort of like what Famous does with the CX2. Chances are if you haven't seen it at a B&M and only have seen it at CI, CBid or Cigar.com, they own it or are licensing it.

So if I'm reading correctly, some Gurkhas aren't actually made by the company Gurkha? I guess the whole thing is brilliant marketing and makes it so they have a wider selection for customers to choose from. Has me curious as to what CI's net worth is since they own cigar.com and cbid too.

 

[tobii3]

Has me curious as to what CI's net worth is since they own cigar.com and cbid too.

Swedish Match owned Cigars International.

Then STG (Scandinavian Tobacco Group) bought out Swedish Match (who owned 49% of STG)...so, now, we see that STG is the world's 2nd largest tobacco distributor...Next to China National Tobacco...followed by British American Tobacco (BATCO)...

Figure the odds, eh?

 

[Dave]

So if I'm reading correctly, some Gurkhas aren't actually made by the company Gurkha? I guess the whole thing is brilliant marketing and makes it so they have a wider selection for customers to choose from. Has me curious as to what CI's net worth is since they own cigar.com and cbid too.

None of this is simple. (Little in this industry is -- just pick any cigar and try to determine who grew the tobacco, who blended it, whose factory rolled it, was it a part of somebody else's factory?, who distributes it, etc.....)

I'm not sure that ANY Gurkhas are made by the company Gurkha. IIRC, most are made by Torano. However, I have seen mention of a Scandinavian Tobacco Group factory, whatever that is.

Also, I'm no authority, but I'm fairly confident that Cigars International does NOT own cigar.com. They are competitors. However, I think that if you pull enough thread, you find that they are both ultimately owned by the same person and/or company.

 

[blind2reason]

I'm no authority, but I'm fairly confident that Cigars International does NOT own cigar.com. They are competitors. However, I think that if you pull enough thread, you find that they are both ultimately owned by the same person and/or company.

That statement alone is giving me a headache.:timebomb: So, different companies competing, but same owner, and CI doesn't own cigar.com... kind of. Ughh. Last time I felt like this I was trying to comprehend the big bang theory along with the concept of time. My head hurts.

 

[Sin]

thats why i just buy from thompsons....

 

[cucumber.breath]

Also, I'm no authority, but I'm fairly confident that Cigars International does NOT own cigar.com. They are competitors. However, I think that if you pull enough thread, you find that they are both ultimately owned by the same person and/or company.

CI & cigar.com are owned by the same company. If you look at the address between CI & ciagr.com, they ship items from the same warehouse (1911 Spillman Drive, Bethlehem, PA 1801). They also have the headquarters. They also have access to the exclusive blends that you mentioned (Diesel, Man O' War, Ave Maria, etc.). Finally, a lot of the copy and photos done for the two catalogs are the same.

 

[tx_tuff]

CI and Cigar.com claim they are not the same. But they carry the same cigars, have the same address and ship from that same address. So believe what you want!

 

[Messiah]

I didn't know they owned 5 Vegas or Man O War. I did know that they owned Profesor Sila.

 

[GoingPostal]

CI and Cigar.com claim they are not the same. But they carry the same cigars, have the same address and ship from that same address. So believe what you want!

They are not the same, just subsidiaries of the same parent corporation so they are not same company but nor are they competitors.

 

[themoneycollector]

As far as CI owning several brands, there's nothing surprising or shady about it. But that's why you see their own brands so heavily discounted. They have some hits and misses just like any other maker. Taste them for yourself and see if you think they are the same blends. I've had many and have liked some, hated others. I don't see any point in them rebranding the same blend as they are all similarly priced and each widely available. And if you think about it, there are infinite possibilities when it comes to blending.

 

[Le Buzz]

Yeah they own 5 vegas but the EO guys started the line. I think that's how it works most of the time with CI... not sure. I enjoy the 5 Vegas alot thou. As long as they remain solid I will keep smoking them.

 

[Fourtotheflush]

Does CI own the line or does STG own the line?
(I know that STG owns or is parent of CI & Ccom) so thats a little muddled.

 

[Docbp87]

Does CI own the line or does STG own the line?
(I know that STG owns or is parent of CI & Ccom) so thats a little muddled.

Most of the trademarks are registered to CI.

 

[njstone]

The Svedes own CI, C.com, CBid, and all the cigar labels that have been named here. Since the big merger, they now own a LOT of premier cigar labels as well, like CAO. People just say "CI owns such and such" because it's essentially the case, even if it isn't technically correct.

CI definately pimps their own stuff, but I have to admit that a lot of their "house" brands are excellent. The Man o' War line is great (the Ruination is just plain awesome), the Deisel is great, and the 5 Vegas line is solid though I don't smoke them much anymore.

One thing CI does well is that they get REAL BLENDERS to do their stuff and they tend to go for medium-range sticks vs. cheap sticks (which I think yeilds better results than, say Famous). They also go after what we want ... for example, over the past 2 years most of their stuff has focused on full-bodied sticks and Broadleaf wrapers!

 

[blind2reason]

Well cool, as long as they're not just band swapping on the same ol' stogies I guess I'll keep using em. This is some good info to have though when making a purchase.

 

[Treinenwj]

Just to muddy the waters a little more: I know of at least one retailer/ website that is not owned by CI, yet ships all cigar orders directly from CI.