FAMOUS SMOKE SHOP WITHDRAWS FROM 2020 PCA TRADE SHOW
January 14, 2020
By Arthur Zaretsky
Founder/CEO, Famous Smoke Shop
I want the industry to know why you will not be seeing me or my company at this year’s [PCA] trade show.
This is not a decision that’s been made lightly or quickly, as I have wrestled with this idea for quite some time. My first trade show goes way back to 1970, when it was held in NYC in the Statler Hilton Hotel on 7th Avenue. For those of you who still remember, the “show” was held in small rooms or suites. The individual deals and negotiating were done in the bedroom – I kid you not. Many of the vendors I once knew are now out of business or dead, so it is with fondness and sadness that I look back to those days prior to the Cigar Boom. As a side note, I sat down at the 1991 show with Marvin Shanken. It was the only time I ever got anything from that man…lunch was on him. The magazine had not yet been published, and he wanted a donation: my mailing list. I won’t go into the details of the negotiation, but he did not get it. I have only spoken to Marvin since that time on two more occasions. Both were equally unpleasant.
I have watched how our industry’s trade show has evolved over the last 50 years. I have paid my dues every year and cannot calculate how much money I have spent going to the shows and supporting the RTDA/IPCPR/PCA. However – not once in those 50 years has anyone from the trade organization ever returned the support or taken time to understand my business, or this segment of the retail market.
Arthur's letter continues here. . .
An Open Letter to The Premium Cigar Industry
Founder/CEO, Famous Smoke Shop
I want the industry to know why you will not be seeing me or my company at this year’s [PCA] trade show.
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| Famous Smoke Shop's New York City Store ca. 1980s. |
This is not a decision that’s been made lightly or quickly, as I have wrestled with this idea for quite some time. My first trade show goes way back to 1970, when it was held in NYC in the Statler Hilton Hotel on 7th Avenue. For those of you who still remember, the “show” was held in small rooms or suites. The individual deals and negotiating were done in the bedroom – I kid you not. Many of the vendors I once knew are now out of business or dead, so it is with fondness and sadness that I look back to those days prior to the Cigar Boom. As a side note, I sat down at the 1991 show with Marvin Shanken. It was the only time I ever got anything from that man…lunch was on him. The magazine had not yet been published, and he wanted a donation: my mailing list. I won’t go into the details of the negotiation, but he did not get it. I have only spoken to Marvin since that time on two more occasions. Both were equally unpleasant.
I have watched how our industry’s trade show has evolved over the last 50 years. I have paid my dues every year and cannot calculate how much money I have spent going to the shows and supporting the RTDA/IPCPR/PCA. However – not once in those 50 years has anyone from the trade organization ever returned the support or taken time to understand my business, or this segment of the retail market.
Arthur's letter continues here. . .
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