Arturo Fuente Creates Distribution Partnership in Spain
Arturo Fuente cigars has expanded its international footprint. This week, Arturo Fuente International formed a distribution partnership with Spain’s La Casa del Tabaco (LCT), which will begin importing and distributing Arturo Fuente cigars for the Spanish market.
“We haven’t had a distributor in Spain for many years,” Jeremiah Meerapfel, president of Arturo Fuente International, told Cigar Aficionado. Spain has a long history of cigar consumption, and the country has traditionally ranked as one of the bigger markets for handmade cigars, especially Cubans, although one that has shown a prevalence for less expensive smokes.
La Casa del Tabaco has been around since 2015, and it distributes several non-Cuban brands in Spain, among them E.P. Carrillo, My Father, Tatuaje and Oliva. It will be handling Fuente cigars separately, via a small sales force focused exclusively on the Dominican brand.
“It is important the brand is handled separately,” said Aitor Zapata of La Casa del Tabaco, who called Fuente “the crown jewel of the premium cigar industry.”
The Spanish company will begin selling a limited range of Fuente product in Spain starting in May, and the plans are to increase the number of Fuente products for sale in Spain later in the year.
