Premium cigar company Oettinger Davidoff has reported a record year for turnover, with the figure reaching CHF494.1 million (US$552 million), a rise of +8.2% year-on-year.
The performance was led by a +28% rise in turnover at the Davidoff Cigar brand, aided by renewed growth in travel retail, said the company, though it did not break out sales in the channel.
Cigar production in the Dominican Republic and Honduras climbed by +26.3% compared to the prior-year volume, and came to 43.1 million sticks. To respond to increasing consumer demand, the company plans to further expand its manufacturing facilities in the Dominican Republic.
To maintain its strong growth, the Davidoff brand this year unveiled ‘The Difference’ campaign to celebrate the Davidoff White Band Collection. It also launched ‘Cigar History Re-Rolled’, bringing back some of the most legendary cigars from the company’s past as Limited Editions.
After a relaunch in 2021, the Zino brand experienced another healthy growth of +84% in 2022 compared to the previous year, driven by a strong distribution build-up and trade marketing support complemented by two new line extensions.
In the own-brand handmade cigar segment, the Basel-based family company achieved an increase of +15%, while the development of its third-party business continued to show encouraging performance, especially for the company’s sole-agency products.
CEO Beat Hauenstein said: “2022 was a challenging, yet memorable year. It started with very encouraging signs of post-pandemic recovery which were unfortunately tempered by a rise in inflation rates and supply chain challenges worsened by unspeakable war in Ukraine.
“Nevertheless, from an economic standpoint, the year 2022 was a record year for Oettinger Davidoff in its 148-year history. We were able to over-deliver against all financial targets set for 2022 and further enhance our EBIT as well as our cash situation. Key contributors to the extraordinary results were continued innovations in marketing and trade for our key brands, namely Davidoff and Zino, while the well-established management of our ‘Crop to Shop’ philosophy allowed us to react swiftly and in an agile manner to ensure the compliant availability of our products in-time, in-full and in highest quality in over 130 markets.”
In late 2022, Oettinger Davidoff completed its five-year ‘Way Forward’ Transformation Programme launched in 2018, through a series of 50 projects. The company has now embarked on its next five-year strategic growth program, called Aspire727.
Hauenstein said: “With Aspire727 we aim at sustainably growing our sales and profits by the year 2027. Oettinger Davidoff stands on very solid ground and we will continue making a difference in our aficionados’ lives and underpin our aspiration in remaining the innovation leader in the global handmade premium cigar business.” ✈
