The Premium Cigar Association announced today that plans for holding a consumer event tied to the annual trade show will be postponed till at least 2021.
PCA President, John Anderson stated in today’s press release:
“Our goal in announcing CigarCon at our 2019 trade show was to elicit feedback and have the conversations surrounding a consumer event. We have been in active listening mode and have taken in all of the industry feedback and have really adjusted many of the logistics surrounding the event. With all of that in mind, and in consultation with our manufacturing partners, we ultimately came to the conclusion that setting the goal for 2021 was the optimal timeframe.”
The idea of CigarCon was presented at this years PCA convention and trade show and was met with mixed responses since it came to light. The idea of CigarCon was to open the annual PCA trade show to consumers for one day, providing the consumer with an experience like no other cigar event they have attended. Retailers and Manufacturers debated the idea. There were even some large retailers that publicly stated they would not attend next years Trade Show if CigarCon was part of it.
Stogie Press has spoken to numerous manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, and consumers since the original announcement. The messages and responses we received, filled the spectrum, from “great idea” to “no way it -will be a shit show“. Based on today’s press release, it seems the PCA got similar responses and are taking the right steps to better understand the need and desires of the association membership.
Moving forward, the PCA stated they will be forming a sub-committee to focus exclusively on CigarCon and expects participation from all classes of retailer and associate membership.
PCA Executive Director, Scott Pearce noted in the press release:
“We are embarking on a significant change to our committee structure to encourage more participation from our membership. By expanding committee participation to a number of non-board members we can ensure we are consistently delivering more value for our members.”