In a bold move, Steve Saka, founder and co-owner of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT), has announced an immediate moratorium on opening new retail accounts until further notice.
In a press release today, Saka noted:
“As a small family business that has been working relentlessly to establish our brands on the best Retailers’ shelves for the last five years, this is a decision that I have been agonizing over for weeks. Our goal has always been, and remains, to provide the very finest quality puros to every seller of handcrafted cigars that wishes to share our products with their customers,” states Steve Saka, the Founder and Co-Owner of DTT.”
He added:
“We were blessed in 2019 to greatly expand our business and even with the C19 situation our growth continues unabated. Simultaneously this year, we like many of our peers have been dealing with unprecedented challenges that continue to compound the situation. In principle, I am not a believer in back orders, and while being back-ordered is not uncommon in our industry, the current level of demand we are experiencing is beginning to dramatically outstrip our ability to deliver cigars to our existing customers in what I regard as a timely manner. This is not good for their customers, so in turn, it is not ideal for them or ourselves.”
Not An Easy Decision
This was not an easy decision for Steve Saka but he noted that the their is no room to sacrifice quality at any level. With his decades of experience int he cigar industry, Steve knows that accelerating production is not a solution. The key to success is caring for the retail partners and making sure they have consistent and quality product to offer their consumers and being able to provide support to those partners with the same quality that they have come to expect.
Steve exemplified this by stating:
“It is critical to all of us here in the DTT family that all of our customers, big and small, are afforded the same positive experience for their choosing to support us. At the current level of demand, I am fearful that we may not be able to serve the immediate needs of our current customers, but almost certainly we will be unable to afford any new accounts the quality of service and fulfillment that these new customers rightly deserve.”
Saka concluded by saying:
“So before it gets ‘ugly’, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our current customers to cease opening any new accounts. As I said at the beginning, this is a tough decision and not a welcomed one for me, but I know it is better to pause and to allow us to catch up, so when we can once again start serving the needs of new customers that their first experience with us be an overwhelmingly positive one.”
Only Temporary
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT), as a company knows this will be just a temporary measure and they do plan to begin opening new accounts as soon as it is physically possible to do so.
With that said, DTT invites any interested retailer that would like to be a future DTT Select Purveyor, to contact the company’s sales department us at [email protected] or call their office at (603) 935-9814.
As soon as it is feasible, DTT will begin to open new accounts in the order in which they expressed an interest.
About Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, LLC
Founded in 2015, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) has quickly become the premier craft manufacturer of ultra premium handmade cigars. Founded by cigar and industry expert Steve Saka, a former Executive Consultant to JR Cigar and President and CEO of Drew Estate, with the singular focus to create only “Puros Sin Compromiso” – Cigars Without Compromise.
Included within their portfolio are Sobremesa, Mi Querida, Todos Las Dias, Sin Compromiso, Umbagog and Muestra de Saka. DTT is the only company ever to be named the “Company of the Year” for three consecutive years by Halfwheel. For more information, please visit: www.dunbartoncigars.com. ®Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and their brands are registered trademarks of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and/or affiliated companies.