Of presentation and products
Optimising in-store presence is among Henri Wintermans Cigars’ key travel-retail priorities for the future. David Davies finds out more
Led by flagship miniature cigarillo brand Café Crème, the Henri Wintermans Cigars portfolio is arguably one of the most dynamic and diverse in the entire travel-retail tobacco category.
Recently strengthened by parent company ST Cigar Holdings’ acquisition of American CAO and Dutch brands Mercator and Schimmelpeninck, the current Henri Wintermans range also includes CAO (high quality cigars), HW Founder’s Blend (premium machine-made cigars), Nobel Petit (classic small cigars) and Mercator (fusing a range of tobaccos in three distinct sizes).
If any further proof were required of the company’s current robust form in travel retail, then its appearance at the 2008 TFWA World Exhibition provided it. Showcasing its various brands, offers and retail solutions to both international customers and trade press, Henri Wintermans Cigars looked every inch the vibrant cigar supplier, with a comprehensive offer to travellers at its disposal.
Retail solutions
While there were no brand new products on display in Cannes, the company placed a considerable emphasis on its latest retail solutions, not least those devised in support of the Café Crème and HW Founder’s Blend brands.
Successfully re-launched with a new packaging design in 2007, the Café Crème range encompasses a host of flavours, among them Blue, Arôme, Noir, Filter Arôme, Filter Tip and Filter Tip Arôme. The supplier also highlighted the ongoing success of the HW Founders’ Blend range of individually wrapped, premium machine-made cigars. Using tobacco from all over South America, the selection showcased at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition included the Half Corona, Slims, Corona de Luxe and Royales.
“Café Crème is the number one small cigar in travel-retail and Henri Wintermans Founder’s Blend (Half Corona) is the leader in the machine-made premium cigars,” confirms Karin Linders from Henri Wintermans Cigars. “In order to strengthen this we are focusing on optimising shelf performance in-store by creating [tailor-made] solutions like the gondola units we showed at TFWA, and by focusing on special packaging.”
Encompassing gondola displays and in-shelf solutions featuring modern, streamlined designs, the new presentational devices are designed to give a “stronger impact” to products in airports and other travel-retail stores.
“Henri Wintermans’ priority is making sure its key products are well-represented and widely available for travellers who enjoy a fine cigar,” adds Linders.
The company also intends to maintain a close watch on changing consumer requirements and expectations. After all, this is crucial to the development of successful and effectively targeted products and presentational devices.
“We are always seeking to respond to the changing consumer needs within the travel-retail channel,” says Linders. “This is the starting point for things like new product development, packaging design and in-store presentations.”
New factory
Simultaneously with this strategy to enhance the presence of its products in-store, Henri Wintermans has also been taking steps to strengthen its production facilities across Europe.
“ST plans to build Europe’s largest and most modern cigar factory in Belgium,” reveals Linders. “Due to open in 2010, the plant will produce more than 1.1 billion cigars annually. By 2010, ST will have three manufacturing sites in Europe – one in Belgium, one in the Netherlands and one in Denmark – rather than the current five sites.”
ST has also been focusing on its interests in other tobacco sub-categories. With brands including Clan, Orlik, Erinmore and Sweet Dublin, ST is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of pipe tobacco, and enjoys representation in some 70 markets worldwide.
The company’s presence in rolling tobacco is also extensive: a portfolio of brands including Escort, Bali, Crossroad, Lighthouse and Home Roll serves the company well in markets such as Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, France, the UK and the USA. Romania, Russia, Czech Republic and Malaysia are among the markets now registering growth for ST’s rolling tobacco brands.
The very model of a modern, multi-interest company, the ST Group also incorporates convenience goods wholesale Dagrofa and, together with Augustinus, holds a majority of shares in legendary Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli.
Collectively, this wide portfolio of assets and interests constitutes a strong base for future growth. With the aforementioned new presentational solutions and initiatives now beginning to make an impact in travel-retail, Henri Wintermans Cigars’ long-term centrality to this industry’s cigar business looks more certain than ever before.
FACT FILE
ST Cigar Holding Group/Henri Wintermans Cigars
Key brands in travel retail include: CAO, Café Crème, HW Founder’s Blend, Nobel Petit, Mercator
Key statistics: Café Crème is the number one small cigar in travel retail; HW Founder’s Blend (Half Corona) is the leader in the machine-made premium cigars segment
The importance of travel-retail: “TR is the key channel for communication and brand-building,” says Henri Wintermans Cigars’ Karin Linders
Current initiatives: the introduction of new travel-retail solutions, including gondola displays, that are expected to give “stronger impact” to HW products in airports and other TR sites
New factory: due to open in 2010, ST’s new cigar plant will produce more than 1.1 billion cigars each year
Other interests: pipe tobacco, rolling tobacco, convenience goods, Tivoli amusement park (Copenhagen)
Centrality of tobacco: despite the company’s other interests, ST executive vice-president Christian Hother Sørensen told travel-retail press in Cannes last October that it remains absolutely committed to the further development of its tobacco brands, adding that “two-thirds of the profitability of the group is [accounted for by] tobacco”.
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