Cigar Store Business Plan, Marketing Plan, How To Guide, and Funding Directory
The Cigar Store Business Plan and Business Development toolkit features 18 different documents that you can use for capital raising or general business planning purposes. Our product line also features comprehensive information regarding to how to start a Cigar Store business. All business planning packages come with easy-to-use instructions so that you can reduce the time needed to create a professional business plan and presentation.
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Cigar stores have seen a resurgence in their popularity over the past 10 years especially as many of these locations have started to act as shop that sell a broad array of products. Cigar stores are generally able to remain profitable and cash flow positive as many people that purchase cigars consider them to be part of their overall lifestyle. As such, these businesses are able to generate highly predictable streams of revenue on a monthly basis. Most importantly, an individual that owns a cigar store needs to have all the appropriate sales tax licenses as well as tobacco sales licenses in place before the commence operations. It should be noted that it is relatively easy to acquire these licenses from municipal agencies as well as state-based agencies. The startup costs associated with the new cigar store are relatively low and most entrepreneurs report that they spend anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 on startup costs. The biggest expense associated with starting a new cigar store typically revolves around the acquisition of inventories. The gross margins from tobacco sales is typically around 70% to 80% depending on the item being sold. If this cigar store is going to sell a number of other products then these gross margins are around 50 to 60%.
A cigar store business plan also needs to be developed especially if the owner-operator is going to be acquiring capital from an investor or third-party financial institution. This business plan should feature a three-year profit and loss statement, cash flow analysis, balance sheet, breakeven analysis, and business ratios page. At the time of this writing, there are approximately 7,000 cigar stores in the United States and each year they generate about $1.8 billion revenue. The industry employs about 19,000 people.
A cigar store SWOT analysis should be produced as well. As it relates to strengths, cigar stores are offering a product that is in continued demand among many people. The gross margins are high and the barriers to entry are considered to be moderately low.
For weaknesses, cigar stores do have some liabilities resulting from the underage sale of tobacco to the general public. However, provided that the owner institutes age verification policies into their operations these risks are somewhat minimal. Cigar stores also have higher than average operating expenses especially in areas that are near bars or in major metropolitan markets.
Many cigar stores expand their operations, the opportunities, by establishing additional locations. Some cigar stores will also take to maintaining an online presence that features e-commerce functionality. However, and much like with the operations of a retail cigar store – making sales online does have its issues given the age verification must occur at the time of sale and at the time of delivery.
For threats, there’s really nothing that is going to impact the way that these companies operate moving forward. There is always going to be a continued demand for cigars and tobacco products – and as such these businesses will be there to meet the market need. Additionally, although many of these businesses can have e-commerce functionality – many people still like going directly to a cigar store in order to smell and try out the product offerings were they make a purchase.
A cigar store marketing plan should also be developed so that the retail location can have substantial foot traffic at the onset of operations. First, it is important to determine the demographics of people that will be coming to the store on an ongoing basis. This demographic analysis should include an examination of population size, population density, annual household income, annual family median income, and the percentage of people that smoke cigars. The marketing plan also typically contain an analysis of competitors within the area. Usually in any suburban market there are only a handful of competitors that offer cigars as their primary offering in a retail setting.
Almost all cigar stores also maintain a website that showcases the hours operation, inventories of tobacco products, inventories of related products, pricing information, and other relevant information to the operations of the cigar store. Again, some entrepreneurs will take to integrating e-commerce functionality onto these websites but this is optional. Many cigar store entrepreneurs will also develop pages on social media platforms in order to boost the visibility among people that have an ongoing interest in the specific type of tobacco product.
Cigars are going to continue to remain popular as they are usually part of an individual’s image and lifestyle. Although many people are aware of the health risks associated with the use of tobacco, many people will still want to enjoy cigar from time to time. Additionally, these products are distributed as gifts as well as within gift baskets from time to time. As such, while there has been an overall decrease in the amount of tobacco use in the United States – the demand for cigars is expected to remain stable in most economic climates.