San Jose, California (PRWEB) March 04, 2013

Follow us on LinkedIn Challenges are abound in the global cigar market much in line with other tobacco products such as cigarettes. However, the cigar industry takes comfort in the fact that the industry is relatively less regulated than the cigarette industry due to less per capita consumption and lower annual sales volumes than cigarettes. Common market restraints faced by both the industries include bans on smoking, taxation, rising health concerns and litigations. The cigar market, in the recent years, also had to face the brunt of the global economic downturn. The tough economic environment incited down trading in the cigar market, with small cigars and cigarillos gaining favor against large and premium products. However, these factors failed to restrain the market from registering positive growth, with the overall effect of these factors limiting to only a slowdown in growth. In the global tobacco products market, cigars emerged as the leading growth driver in recent years.

Consumption of tobacco products is varied across the globe. While most of the markets are driven by cigarettes, a few are driven by smokeless tobacco products. Traditionally, cigar companies have not been as successful as cigarette companies across the developing economies in the world. For instance, Eastern Europe, especially CIS countries, holds tremendous growth potential for cigarette manufacturers, whereas growth in demand for cigars has been limited in these markets historically. However, growth across several traditionally low cigar-consuming markets has been on the rise during the past few years. These markets include Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. Countries exhibiting evidence of growth in the Asia-Pacific region include China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan.

Less stringent regulations and tax loopholes have made cigars the fastest growing segment in the tobacco industry worldwide. Cigar consumers across the globe show regional disparities on the basis of gender, smoking habits and age. In a market scenario where the consumption of cigarettes is witnessing consistent decline, the rising trend of cigar smoking speaks volumes of the manufacturing companies perceived strategy to create new consumer base which is apparently directed towards the youth. In order to balance the losses made by volume declines in cigarettes, several global and local players have shifted their focus to the cigar segment. Also, to create a consumer base in the cigar segment, manufacturers started offering line extensions that vary in flavors, color and design. As a result, the decline in cigarette consumption has come as a shot in the arm for the cigar industry.

The cigar segment consists of a broad range of products. While little cigars, cigarillos and large cigars form the primary product categories, they are further segregated on the basis of quality, origin of tobacco and flavors. The consumption of these cigars varies according to regions, age and gender. The United States is the largest consumer of handmade premium cigars in the world and premium cigars constitute one of the highly preferred product lines in the cigar segment. However, these premium cigars account for a minor share of the total volume consumption in the cigar segment; where little cigars and cigarillos, which are witnessing continuous rise in consumption, account for majority of sales. The trend could be attributed to the low prices of cigars and cigarillos due to which the market is witnessing generation of a new consumer base that has been evolved from former cigarette smokers. In Europe, however, cigarillos are also considered as premium and are among the most preferred cigar products in several nations.

As stated by the new market research report on Cigars, the US represents the single largest market for cigars worldwide. Europe is another leading market for cigars worldwide. The Western European region has seen some of the most stringent anti-tobacco laws being implemented over the last few decades. Despite these restraints, the prevalence rates are still higher in comparison to other developing nations in the Asia Pacific and Latin American regions. Asia Pacific represents the fastest growing regional market worldwide projected to rise at a compounded annual rate of 3.6% in volume terms over the analysis period.

With respect to competition in the market, the global cigar industry is largely consolidated. The past decade witnessed several public companies involved in mergers and privatization. In view of buoyant cigar market conditions in majority of the countries worldwide, cigarette manufacturers are increasingly being attracted towards cigar production. Major players profiled in the report include Agio Cigars, Altadis SA, Dannemann Cigarenfabrik GmbH, Habanos SA, John Middleton, Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S, Swedish Match AB and Swisher International.

The research report titled Cigars: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, competitive landscape, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides annual sales estimates and projections in volume (sticks) and value (US$ ) terms for Cigars for the years 2010 through 2018 for the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela), and Rest of World. The report also provides market analytics for the historic period 2004 through 2009 for additional perspective.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit

http://AElectronicCigarette.com/go/free-trial

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world’s largest and reputed market research firms.

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