Casa 1910 AG, a Swiss company that sells Mexican cigars, has announced that Smoker Friendly, LLC has become an equity partner in its business.
The companies did not announce the financial terms of the investment, which is the latest chapter in what has been a very busy 12 months for Casa 1910.
Last September, Casa 1910 announced that it had closed a $3 million funding round via more than a dozen investors. Coinciding with that investment, the company lowered prices on most of its SKUs by 20-25 percent. In March, it announced a portfolio makeover that included updated packaging, standard sizes, and a discontinuation of the company’s lines that were made outside of Mexico, part of a rebrand to become more focused on Mexico.
“We built Casa 1910 to bring something real to a category that has too often settled for imitation,” said Jamie Baer and Serge Bollag, the company’s co-founders, in a press release. “Partnering with Smoker Friendly is a milestone we’re incredibly proud to announce — and a reflection of the trust the Gallagher family has placed in this brand. Terry and Dan have long been ahead of where this industry is heading, and we’re grateful to welcome on board such respected partners.”
By the number of storefronts, Smoker Friendly is the largest specialty tobacco retailer in the country, with more than 1,000 physical points of sale. Most of those are independently-owned franchise stores, though the Gallagher family, which owns The Cigarette Store, LLC, Smoker Friendly’s parent company, owns some of the stores. Smoker Friendly stores vary in size and product selection, but carry all sorts of tobacco products, as well as other parallel items like vapes.
“Smoker Friendly is thrilled to make a strategic investment in Casa 1910 and excited to be a part of the vision Jamie and Serge have to grow the brand in the US and globally,” said Terry and Dan Gallagher, who serve as ceo/owner and president/owner, respectively.
In addition to the core Smoker Friendly stores, the company also operates under other names such as Gasamat, Havana Manor, Smoke ‘N Go, Tobacco Depot and paylesscigarandpipes.com. Smoker Friendly is also the owner of the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival, which takes place next weekend in Cheyenne, Wyo.
Casa 1910 is a five-year-old company that was built around the idea of creating a luxury Mexican cigar. Its products are offered in 39 countries following recent distribution agreements with Cigarmundi AG for the French and German parts of Switzerland, Maduro AB for Sweden, and NAP Retail in France. Arguably, it has had the most success in duty-free. Casa 1910 says its products are in 55 airports thanks to deals with Avolta and Heinemann Group, two major global travel chains.
Update — Cigarmundi AG is Casa 1910’s distributor in various parts of Switzerland, not Germany.
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