Pointing out that the global pandemic has brought on drastic economic changes is an obvious understatement. What is not always so obvious, however, is the manner in which these changes take shape and the effect on businesses at many different levels.

COVID-19 and Cigar Supply

The demand for cigars at Cigar Chief has increased since pre-COVID times (and we thank you for choosing us for your premium cigar needs!). We’re lucky. Especially state-side, many cigar retailers didn’t bounce back after the initial shut downs in April. Thankfully, however, some of the retailers who did make it through the lockdowns are experiencing a surge in sales, in large part due to the influx of people working from home; people who can now smoke at their leisure throughout the day.

What has changed dramatically for us—and for our customers—is that the supply chain has been challenged in trying to rebuild inventories as many countries and manufacturers experienced rolling lock downs.

The global supply of cigars has decreased. 

Some manufacturers have shut down or severely reduced their production due to COVID-19. Cigar factories in Honduras and the Dominican Republic, for instance, closed in response to the pandemic, which is a shattering blow to the supply chain since these countries are two of the biggest exporters of cigars worldwide.

These rolling closures and the ensuing disruptions in supply makes it very difficult to buy high quality products in the same volume as pre-COVID.

According to a recent Cigar Insider survey of 141 cigar shops, over half of the retailers surveyed could not access and continue to be unable to access cigars during the pandemic.

And, as we’ve mentioned, the demand for cigars has increased. 

On a local level alone, we’ve seen a momentous rise in the demand for cigars. When you combine this demand with short supply, delayed shipping times and the necessarily expanded COVID-19 safety protocols, it makes the situation challenging for all.

Demand has increased for delivery.

Understandably, people don’t want to go into stores if they don’t have to. This means the demand for shipping companies has increased and our customers, like customers of Amazon and almost every other online retailer, are experiencing shipping delays.

These are the issues. The good news is they are not insurmountable, we are always working behind the scenes to help minimize disruptions for our customers.

How we’re addressing inventory issues:

  • We’re continuing to buy as much as your favourite cigars as possible. Our back rooms are refilled day-in and day-out.
  • You can add out-of-stock cigars to your own Waitlist to be notified automatically when it comes back in stock.
  • We recently relaunched our website with many new features. Our Cigar Finder can help you find in-stock cigars of your favourite varieties.
  • We’re adding a new “Back In-Stock” section to our website so you can quickly see what has been added to our inventory.
  • We’re continuing to improve our inventory control so our website’s stock availability will be more accurate.

Even though we may be busier than ever, we’re always happy to answer any of your questions. Contact us anytime, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.