Fall 2020 PCA Magazine

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG AUTUMN 2020 | PCA The Magazine 39 always wore a suit. My business approach is professional. If you want to sell high-end, you have to look high-end. That’s when you’re branding yourself.” This was in 1997. Twenty- three years later, Ambassador Fine Cigars has moved twice and opened an additional location, with each location spanning more than 4,000 square feet of retail space and lounge. As he expanded, Seferian has always beenmindful of the image each store projects. The original Phoenix Ambassador is classically elegant, with an old-world, club-like atmosphere. The newer Peoria lounge is more contemporary, with an open, somewhat more casual feel. Each store, however, pursues the same goal. “We provide the environment and selection that the finest cigar aficionado expects, but we also create an environment that’s comfortable for the novice,” notes Ambassador’s website. In other words, Seferian is representing his business, as the ambassador of fine cigars, to both ends of the cigar enthusiast spectrum, and everyone in between. While Seferian understands the importance of image, he’s savvy enough to realize it takes more than image and style to retain customers. Both Ambassador locations feature their flagship brand of Vartan cigars. The original offering is amild tomediumDominican Belicoso blended by Hendrik Kelner. The fuller-bodied Vartan Zoravar, also fromKelner, is presented in four shapes, and features a Nicaraguan wrapper leaf. These ultra-premium smokes are available only fromAmbassador Fine Cigars, connecting the proprietor, Seferian, with the business, Ambassador, andmerging the brand with the brander. A third variant of the Vartan brand is embedded in bottles of Grand Pommier XS VSOP Cognac, obtainable from select sellers of fine spirits, exposing Ambassador and its products to an even wider audience. Outstanding service, rare and exclusive cigars and Seferian’s reputation for excellence and elegance, define Ambassador Fine Cigars as a brand unique to itself, and a brand that is a reflection of its owner. Brand fusion In some instances, a store’s brand is fused with the name, reputation and even likeness of the business owner. Such is the case withHavana Phil’s Cigar Company in Greensboro, North Carolina. The free-standing, 7,500-square-foot building features a 1,000-square-foot walk-in humidor, an open to the public Rocky Patel Lounge, an exclusiveMontecristo Patio Lounge and amembers-only Davidoff Lounge. But even with three branded lounges, the true brand for this business is the image of Havana Phil, embodied by the cigar- loving founder, Philip Segal III, and by his son, business owner PhilipMichael Segal IV, who remembers his father as “100 percent passion. He did it all for the love. [The store] was about creating a place he wanted to come and hang out, what you would call a perfect cigar oasis.” By incorporating his image in the store’s logo, rendered in a silhouette with hat and cigar, Phil Segal revealed his branding strategy early on: Havana Phil the business andHavana Phil the character were one. “He wanted every place to be branded with something,” says his son. The younger Segal, heir to the business as well as the image, understands the value of retaining customers. In addition to offering a vast selection of merchandise, libations to pair with cigars, and regular tasting events, his store also offers its own private label products, featuring an exclusive Havana Phil’s Fifth Anniversary Davidoff cigar. Within the broad spectrum of Davidoff offerings, the Fifth Anniversary is an especially strong seller. The 6 x 52 Belicoso sports an Ecuador wrapper and its blend is exclusive toHavana Phil’s. Further reinforcing Havana Phil’s image as its own brand is their Special Edition CGALIII, created by and honoring founder Philip Segal III, andmore recently the CGALIV, blended by Philip IV in conjunction with Rocky Patel. “The private label cigars do very well,” says Segal. “Our logos for the CGALIII and CGALIV play a large role in our marketing strategy.” Indeed, each of the cigars bears the likeness of either Philip III or Philip IV, cementing the product, the business and the owner as one integrated brand. And the exclusivity of the house cigar brand creates a local following that can’t be duplicated by competitors. A locale defined On rare occasions, a business, its location and its product line contribute equally to creating and reinforcing that business’s brand. Theremay be no better example of this than Deadwood Tobacco Company, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Established in 2006 by California tobacconist Vaughn Boyd, the retail store and cigar bar is located in the heart of the infamousWildWest town known for gambling, smoking, drinking and other vices not appropriate tomention in the pages of a trade publication. Boyd and her husband had A B R A N D A P A R T From top left, clockwise, Vartan Seferian of Ambassador Fine Cigars in Phoenix; Havana Phil’s Cigar Company’s Davidoff Lounge in Greensboro, North Carolina; the entrance to Deadwood Tobacco Company in Deadwood, South Dakota; the bar at Deadwood Tobacco Company; Arseen Chrikjian of Old Oaks Cigar and Wine in Thousand Oaks, California; and Phil Segal of Havana Phil’s. A BUSINESS, ITS LOCATION AND ITS PRODUCT LINE CONTRIBUTE EQUALLY TO CREATING AND REINFORCING THAT BUSINESS’S BRAND.