Brand Status
The current Habanos S.A. portfolio consists of 27 brands, grouped by availability and marketing strategy.
Global Brands are available wherever Habanos are sold. The focus of the brands is on "innovation and product development." These brands see the bulk of Limited Edition and Reserve releases, as well as various super premium cigars (anniversary humidors etc). They are not available for Regional Edition releases.
Value Brands are available at La Casa del Habano and Habanos Specialist stores. The focus of these brands is on "value development." These brands see lots of Regional and La Casa del Habano Exclusive Releases, as well as occasional Limited Edition cigars.
Volume Brands are available at all La Casa del Habano stores. These are cheap, mass market cigars with lower quality packaging. They do not generally receive special edition releases.
Other Brands are available at all La Casa del Habano stores. The focus of these brands is on "tactical development." Most of these brands only have a few cigars in regular production, but will see occasional Regional Edition releases.
Collectively, the Value, Volume and Other brands are referred to as the "Portfolio Brands."
The current system of classification was formally announced to distributors in early 2019, however, it had been apparent for some time that certain brands were not receiving releases in line with their official classifications. Prior to the current system, brands were classified as follows:
- Global (worldwide availability): Cohiba, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, José L. Piedra, Montecristo, Partagás, and Romeo y Julieta.
- Niche (specialty brands): Cuaba, San Cristóbal, and Trinidad.
- Multi-local (available in most countries): Bolívar, Fonseca, Punch, Quintero, and Vegas Robaina.
- Local (availability limited to a few countries): Diplomáticos, El Rey del Mundo, Juan López, La Flor de Cano, La Gloria Cubana, Por Larrañaga, Quai d'Orsay, Rafael González, Ramón Allones, Saint Luis Rey, Sancho Panza, and Vegueros
That grouping had last changed in 2007, when H. Upmann and Jose L. Piedra were upgraded from Multi-local brands to Global brands, and Quintero was downgraded from a Global brand to a Multi-local brand.
The Global and Niche brands were considered the Habanos premium brands, promoted on a worldwide basis, and accounted for the bulk of their total sales.
All Habanos cigars are now handmade (Totalmente a Mano) and are virtually all long filler cigars (Tripa Larga).
The
Jose L. Piedra, La Flor de Cano, and Quintero brands all currently comprise short filler cigars (Tripa Corta).
The Por Larrañaga, Rafael Gonzalez, and Fonseca brands all currently contain a single short filler cigar (Tripa Corta).