While brick and mortar retailers are struggling to overcome hardship during these unprecedented times, Micallef Cigars launches the Phoenix program to better serve retailers.

Micallef Cigars published an open letter to the cigar industry earlier this year, in which they made a commitment to their retailers. The Phoenix program is part of that commitment.

“Business as normal is now a road to failure. We are coming out of a very dark time where many businesses were forced to close or shrink their operation and cash flow is tight for everyone. We don’t know what the rest of the year holds,” said Dan Thompson, President of Micallef Cigars. He continued, “If we feel this way, we can only imagine how much it has impacted retailers. So, we scrapped the traditional show deals and are offering retailers a personalized solution to help overcome problems this year.”

The Phoenix program, running through December 15, 2020, allows retailers to choose when and how they want to spend with Micallef, without the pressure of a single big purchase. This is a wholly different approach in the industry, as most incentives and discounts are given during the PCA Trade Show (which has been canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The founder of Micallef Cigars, Al Micallef, commented on the current situation by saying, “I’ve been thru best of times and worst of times. The one thing I learned is sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger, and sometimes you’re the ball. Either way, you want to be with your partners. Right now, we’re all facing some tough times. Experience has taught me, we can build a foundation for the best of times, but we have to do it by supporting each other during the worst of times.”

Micallef will be including three new cigars in the program. These vitolas may be reserved at the time of enrollment and will count toward the program benefits. Retailers will not be invoiced for the new products until they are shipped later this summer. Micallef made the unprecedented decision that retailers may include reservations made in February and March of their sold-out Maduro, toward their program benefits, as well.

Brick and Mortar retailers can begin enrolling May 19, 2020.

Leave it to Micallef Cigars to continue to change the game.