Gartech is a three-cigar holder made from a variety of hand-tooled leathers that also includes differing cigar impedimenta, all of which are detailed in the Product section below. This marketing plan is designed to take advantage of both the current strictures of the marketplace, and some of the new marketing concepts made available by the Internet. A recent article in Brandweek bears mention at this point, since the article discussed the rigors of getting a new product into the hands of the cigar smoker.
As Beirne (1999) observes, the confusing plethora of cigar brands and makers is "pushing cigar smokers back to the names they know, like Punch, Partagas and Macanudo. In that environment, a new player might be hard pressed to convince tobacco shop retailers to clear it some shelf space" (Beirne, 1999, 2). Beirne discusses the rigors endured by Gran Reserve, a division of Synergy Brands, which specializes in selling impulse grocery, phone cards and health and beauty aids. The market was glutted (even more so for cigar accessories which take more shelf space and move more slowly). As he points out:
The typical cigar market launching pad in the old school involves securing a product review in smoking magazines and waiting for word of mouth to kick in, but that cycle didn't turn fast enough for Synergy to break through the wall going up around tobacconists. So someone figured, if you couldn't go through the wall, go around it. (Beirne, 1999, 2)
"Going around the wall" is the theme of this marketing plan. Before going into the classic Four Ps, it is essential to spend a few moments discussing the potential customer. According to the industry organization, Cigar Research Association:
Americans smoke some 3 billion cigars a year, more than any other nationality except the Chinese.
Presently, there are six million cigar smokers in the U.S., of which approximately one million are premium cigar smokers.
Imports of ...