El Septimo Announces Creation of Retailer Enhancement Center

Los Angeles, CA, March 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — El Septimo the world’s largest ultra-premium cigar company, announced today the introduction of a new division within the company, which will provide assistance to all El Septimo retailers by optimizing their profitability and improving their operational efficiencies.  The new division will focus on providing free services as needed to existing retail stores, as well as the establishment of new stores, which will include financing and assistance, as well as the design and decoration, and sales and marketing training by El Septimo’s world class team. El Septimo is the first in the cigar industry to do this – showing its commitment to its partners and retailers. This program will only be provided to retailers that sell El Septimo cigars in their establishments. 

The program is designed to make El Septimo Retailers the best-performing retailers in the world and will immediately be launched in US, with plans to expand into Europe and the Middle East by January of next year, and to the rest of the world by mid-2024. 

Interested retailers need to complete a one-page questionnaire, and within 2 weeks El Septimo will provide them with a free, customized improvement plan. Once the plan is accepted, El Septimo’s qualified staff will work side-by-side with the retailer to implement the plan and turn-around their operation.  

“Over the last 2 years, I have been fortunate enough to visit many retailers around the world,” says Zaya Younan, Chairman & CEO of El Septimo Cigars. “When I visit retailers, I don’t just focus on selling them cigars and going to my next appointment. I focus on understanding what they do right so that I can learn from them, and check for areas in which they can change to improve sales, profitability and most importantly, customer satisfaction.  Having over 20 years of retail experience around the globe, I have tried to provide assistance to our retailers as requested.  We have seen demand for this service increase significantly, so we developed this program to help all of our customers and retailers to be more successful.

“We noticed cigar-store sales have dropped across the country over the past year because of the fact that more cigar retail stores opened last year than any other previous year, with online sales also having increased substantially. This has negatively impacted existing retailers’ sales and profitability.  This problem will only get worse as more cigar retail stores are scheduled to open in 2023, and with online sales becoming more frequent due to convenience of purchase and tax advantages. Therefore, we feel it is important to help our retailers prepare for this industry transition and benefit from running their operations more effectively,” Younan concludes.   

El Septimo Tucson, AZ Cigar Lounge owner Scott Miller details his experience with El Septimo, saying “I always wanted to open my cigar lounge in Tucson, AZ but was hesitant to do so because it is such a small market with many existing cigars retailers.  My concern went away by making one phone call to El Septimo. At first, I thought I was not going to hear back from them, but within an hour, the CEO Zaya Younan called me. Within 4 months, we opened a beautiful lounge thanks to the significant input in design, sales and marketing by El Septimo. Actually, I get a regular phone call from the El Septimo team asking me how things are going and if I need any help. They treat my store as if it is theirs, and because of this, I love and trust the brand.  Withing 2 months of opening, we exceeded our sales expectations and are looking to open a 2nd location.  This is truly a world-class company and a leader in the industry.  The free consulting help they provided me was worth a million.  Thank you El Septimo.” 

Another great success story is a lounge in Hollywood, CA that was opened 3 years ago. For 3 years the lounge never made any profit and had ongoing operational losses.  The lounge was selling over 40 different brands of cigars, but trusted El Septimo to reduce their facings, train the sales staff, manage event coordination, manage marketing campaigns, and update the lounge design and ambiance. Within the first month, the lounge turned profitable and after the 2nd month, sales grew by 125%. 

Younan finishes, “El Septimo is here to stay and will continue to grow every day. We are committed to supporting our retailers and maintaining our position as a leader in this industry.”

About Younan Company

Younan Company is a global private equity firm that specializes in acquisitions and management of various assets and companies in the luxury consumer space. The company’s strategy is to build a portfolio of luxury products and properties, and lifestyle companies and services. Today, Younan Company is recognized as a global luxury brand with more than $4.8 billion in assets under management through its Younan Properties and La Maison Younan. La Maison Younan owns and manages luxury hotels and resorts in France and Portugal, including Château de Beauvois, Hôtel Saint-Martin, Château Le Prieuré, Alexandra Palace, Domaine de Vaugouard, and Château de la Perrière, as well as Malibu Foz Hotel and Beach Resort located in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, four French golf courses including Golf des Forges, Golf du Petit Chêne,  Golf d ’Avrillé, and Golf de Vaugouard, two vineyards in Saint-Émilion including Château La Croix Younan and Château Zaya, El Septimo Premium Cigars & 7 Global Distribution Tobacco Wholesale, and MPA Studio de Création  Design Agency in Paris.

• El Septimo CEO Zaya Younan to Open New Training Center to Assist Retailers with Increasing Sales & Optimizing Profitability