PCA Magazine Fall 2019

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 | PCA The Magazine 27 B Y L A R R Y W A G N E R H IT CAN BE HARD to stand out in a crowd—just ask some of the contenders for the Democratic nomination for president. The level of difficulty only increases when you have a product to sell and you’re vying with hundreds of others for the attention and purchasing power of potential customers. Such was the case at this year’s PCA Annual Convention and Trade Show. The show floor was bursting with more than 200 exhibitors, with 25 of them showing for the first time. That’s a lot of competition, even among the first-time entries. It’s harder still when most retailers have made appointments with, or are prioritizing, the larger brand-name manufacturers, leaving little time to seek out other, unfamiliar lines of merchandise. As a result, it can be challenging for a new vendor to gain traction. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that smaller booths tend to flow into each other, making them hard to distinguish, and are often dwarfed by the “showroom” exhibits of the bigger suppliers. These facts were not lost onMark Reddy, the marketing director for A.C.E. Prime, an established manufacturer introducing their own cigar brands for the first time at this year’s show. Reddy says he comes from a media PR and marketing background, and as such, realized the value in breaking out from the pack when given the opportunity to connect with the more than 2,000 retailers roaming the aisles. Fortunately, Reddy and A.C.E. Prime have the distinction of having Tiago Splitter, a former NBA player and member of the 2014 NBA championship San Antonio Spurs, as one of the founding partners of the company. Currently a pro scout for the Brooklyn Nets, Splitter is an avid cigar smoker who had formed a close friendship with co-founder Luciano Meirelles a few years prior to establishing A.C.E. Prime. Splitter is also a good friend of former NBA All- Star Dominique Wilkins, a fellow cigar lover who was persuaded to join forces with A.C.E. Prime to help create the MXS Signature line of cigars. PRIME ACE DEBUT AT PCA SHOW