The world of cigars

Importer Hunters & Frankau has declined to comment. A 50% drop in Cuban cigar deliveries since the start of the year. A de facto rationing reported by most UK cigar retailers we contacted over the past few hours, following an article published by Cigar Inspector, a website owned by the Dominique London group, which operates several cigar shops in the

The group led by Dominique Gyselinck and Frederic Dechamps is recruiting the former Managing Director of Maori Tabacs, distributor of Cuban cigars in Andorra.   Dominique London announces the appointment of Miquel Angel Palacios i Moliner as Group Operations Manager. “This strategic appointment further strengthens the group’s global management structure and supports its continued expansion across key international markets,” Dominique

The regional marketing director of the Asian group has resigned. He will leave PCC at the end of June.   Norio Hattori, regional marketing director for The Pacific Cigar Company (PCC), will be leaving the exclusive distributor of Cuban cigars in Asia at the end of June, he announced to L’Amateur de Cigare. The French-Japanese executive joined PCC in 2012

The price increase “due to increase of global inflation and increasing costs from the suppliers” will take effect on February 1st. The Canadian Habanos distributor Havana House, has sent its retailers the annual notice advising them of a price increase on Cuban cigars.  The notice states that the increases “are due to increase of global inflation and increasing costs from their

The prices published in the Official Journal show an average increase of approximately 5%.   The retail prices of Cuban cigars in France will increase by approximately 5% starting February 1, 2026, according to the price list published on January 13 by French Customs. The Partagas D4, one of the best-selling cigars in France and worldwide, will thus increase from

The Cambodian businessman of Chinese origin has been indicted by US authorities for massive cyber fraud.   Chen Zhi, a shareholder of Habanos SA, who was being prosecuted by US authorities for massive cyber fraud, has been arrested in Cambodia and deported to China. Cambodian authorities “arrested three Chinese nationals, Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang, and Shao Ji Hui, and

All tickets for the 26th edition of the Festival del Habano (February 23-27, 2026) have been sold through exclusive distributors.   “Due to the extraordinary demand generated by Cohiba’s 60th anniversary, all tickets have been sold exclusively through the Habanos SA distribution network,” the Havana-based group announced in an email to these distributors two months before the 2026 Festival del

Elite Trading Scandinavia AB, a subsidiary of Habanos SA in Sweden, has until December 10 to prove that it has no connection with Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi, who is being prosecuted by US authorities for cyber fraud.   Wherever he is, Chen Zhi, the Cambodian businessman of Chinese origin, is watching the empire he built in about ten years crumble

Charly Spriet’s company will distribute the Dominican brand from January 1, 2026. Albana Tobacco will take over distribution of the entire Arturo Fuente catalog in France starting January 1, 2026, its manager, Charly Spriet, announced to L’Amateur. The company has already been distributing cigars manufactured by Fuente for the American company Prometheus (God of Fire, Opus X Lost City, etc.)

Embassy officials “buy boxes for $50 and resell them for $1,000 abroad,” says the defecting diplomat.   The North Korean embassy in Havana is home to a cigar smuggling operation, former North Korean diplomat Lee Il-Kyu revealed in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE. Il-Kyu served in Havana on several occasions between 2011 and 2023, notably as the

The renegotiation of distribution agreements in Europe began after the divorce announced last August between the Dominican brand and Meerapfel Söhne.   The game has begun to reshuffle, just over two months after the break in relations between Arturo Fuente and Meerapfel Söhne. Alexis Aazam Zanganeh has announced that his company, Great O Legacy Distribution & Co (G.O.L.D. & Co),

The Cambodian businessman of Chinese origin is accused by the US authorities of massive fraud. A routine investigation by the Swedish administration confirmed his key role in Habanos SA, via a complex network of offshore companies.   On October 15, Washington and London announced their decision to impose sanctions and freeze certain activities of Chen Zhi, founder of one of

“The production [in prison] is symbolic,” Habanos and Tabacuba assure in an official reaction to the report of the NGO Prisoners Defenders.   Questioned by halfwheel following the report by the NGO Prisoners Defenders, Habanos S.A. confirmed that inmates roll cigars in Cuban prisons. “According to reports from Tabacuba, the organization responsible for the cigar rolling industry, the main objective of

The Dominican manufacturer’s booth at the world’s largest tobacco products trade show will remain empty for the three days of the event. “Due to unexpected circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to join you this year at Intertabac,” reads a sign placed on an easel in the middle of an empty Arturo Fuente Cigars booth. The message is signed

According to the Spanish-based organization Prisoners Defenders, more than 11 million Habanos are made each year by inmates in the island’s prisons.   Inmates in Cuban prisons are subjected to forced labor to roll cigars for export, according to a document released yesterday by the Spanish NGO Prisoners Defenders. The report details the situation in Quivican Prison, south of Havana,

This venue, in partnership with Tang Tobacco, will open in the first half of 2026 on Pall Mall.   The first collaboration between Dominique London (DL) and Tang Tobacco, shareholder of The Pacific Cigar Company (PCC), will take place in London, Dominique Gyselinck’s group announced in a press release. The two entities announced this summer the signing of a “strategic

During the previous crop, a similar objective could not be met due to the lack of tobacco dryers.   14,623 hectares will be planted in the western province of Pinar del Rio for the 2025-2026 tobacco season. This is the official target announced by officials of the state-owned Tabacuba group, quoted by Granma, the daily newspaper of the Cuban Communist

The Parisian cocktail bar and lounge has been awarded the Habanos S.A. label dedicated to venues offering the best smoking experience.   The Gentlemen 1919 bar and smoking lounge announces that it has been awarded the Habanos Lounge label by Habanos S.A. The establishment, located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, sees this as a recognition of “our commitment to