Interesting news

[idbowman]

Not sure what it will really mean in the long run, but Cornell and Diehl is merging with Laudisi (Smokingpipes.com)

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-news/cornell-diehl-to-merge-with-laudisi-enterprises-effective-january-1-2014/

 

[gravel]

Wilford stressed that there will be no changes to the tobacco blend recipes. Some of the tin art will change, and the C&D website will get a much-needed makeover. Direct-to-consumer sales will cease, but special orders can still be placed through any retailer interested in doing so.
Cornell & Diehl will maintain the same phone number and facilities so they can still be reached just as before.

Sounds positive, unless you were a direct to consumer sales fan.

 

[monbla256]

Intersting news. Thanks for posting. But it does look like one thing will change :
".....Direct-to-consumer sales will cease, but special orders can still be placed through any retailer ...."

 

[Brewdude]

Intersting news. Thanks for posting. But it does look like one thing will change :
".....Direct-to-consumer sales will cease, but special orders can still be placed through any retailer ...."

That jumped out at me as well, but as I've never done a direct-to-consumer sale with them I can't comment on the implications.

At first glance it looks positive. SP/C&D/GLP are all great resources with plenty of savvy and hopefully it will spell great things as they go forward.


Cheers,

RR

 

[rothnh]

Interesting.

Sounds like a win-win for everyone concerned -- at least at first blush.

Thanks for posting!

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Not good news to me.

smokingpipes is by far the biggest, most powerful pipe shop in the US. They throw the weight around with 5 Xs as much advertising as anyone else. They can afford to. Then too, as their ad admonishes us to believe, they are "experts." What a doodle-oooh of a claim. Not experts but just the fatcats; arrogant bilge! They may be "merging" but I view it as more of a buyout; and C&D is no small potatoes. They have many, many blends themselves and blend for at least a half-dozen others. They tin for a good many, too, GLP the most noteworthy. Pease has almost 50 blends; can you imagine the work, and the dollars, even that of itself generates?

I'm not saying that sp does bad business; they get it right, and no matter who you talk to in customer service, they want to be of service. Mr. Wilford scoped out the business long ago, and their pipe business is so very solid, and I great earner. Need I point out that pipes are the big-ticket items for businesses? I just don't like anyone that big who aspires to be so much bigger, and this "merger" with C&D, once the kinks are worked out, will probably increase their bottom line by 50%? I don't know what their numbers will be, and I'm not a businessman; but C&D is big and they will make sp's business that much bigger.

 

[gravel]

AB,

I'm not trying to be combative, but your post isn't fair to SP or to C&D. There is little substance to your claim that is is a take-over or to the overall size of SP. You present numbers which appear out of thin air, attack SP's marketing, begrudgingly give them a nod for good customer service, and then admit you are not a businessman.

So in summary, you don't like this because this makes one larger company? Bigger = bad?

 

[Tate]

Anytime I see a beloved company "merge" or get taken over, or whatever, I get a little nervous. It may be unfounded in this case, but in my personal experience, when two companies join to make a "big" company - quality suffers or prices increase.

 

[Carlos]

Mike, you may want to reread your comments and perhaps edit them. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, be aware that comments posted on a forum can be read world wide. That isn't always a good thing. I also don't want to get in a habit of having to edit posts. That's way more work than the mods and admins really have time for. Negative comments can often inflame passions about a topic of discussion. If comments seem to be based in facts, more leeway is tolerated. A person's comments will also reflect upon that person. I will try to watch this thread carefully.

 

[Carlos]

About the merger. As a customer, I think it's probably a good thing. Being bigger can increase buying power. It may create opportunities for them to obtain items that they could not get before. Having access to more retail outlets cannot hurt. Who wouldn't like to be the company with the blend(s) that could say that they are the number one selling blend(s) in the USA or the world. I always hear that honor goes to Captain Black. Yet I know no one who smokes it. I am not saying that it would happen. But maybe it could.

I have dealt with many of these folks on the phone. I have met them at Chicago. I am happy to see that no one seems to have been shown the door. Sounds to me like jobs are more secure. Perhaps even with more opportunities. All these folks are knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to talk about their products. Sykes name has come up many times in conversation about the support he has given and offered to those around the Pipes and Tobacco world. My hats off to him.

That custom, personal service, may just take a bit more doing in the future. I have called and spoke with the folks at C&D, and they have pressed blends for me that are not normally pressed. For my part, I always offered to purchase several pounds to make it worth their while. Some provision for this type of work can always be made if they get requests to make it worth their while.

So, let's wish all of them the best. :sunny: 

 

[rothnh]

First of all Carlos, I don't see a need to get a itchy trigger finger on Mike's comments here.  Make no mistake, I do not agree with him whatsoever, but it is his opinion and I (as well as everyone else) should respect that.  I see no flame in his post -- Mike basically disagrees with bigger being better -- so?  BTW the bold type was a bit over the top as well.

That said and out of the way now, I agree with those who say that this merger will be better for C&D (now the current owners can, as they say, get back to focusing on what they do best which is blend tobacco) and a great deal for Sykes ( his company can market, which is what they do best).  This partnership (one needs to stress this is not a buy out) seems exciting for both of them and we as customers. This is a win-win for Greg Pease as well -- maybe now he doesn't have to solo in getting his blends out there (like he single handedly did getting GLP to UK vendors).

That said, I doubt Sykes' "personal service"will have little if anything to do with C&D's success.  Did we see any improvements in Savinelli's "personal service" since his company absorbed Savinelli USA's responsibility for marketing Savinelli in North America? Nope.  That's not saying Syke's company is not doing well but certainly "stellar" in this regard is not an attribution I would use.

But yes, otherwise I agree and as I stated above = I wish this merger all the best and I do hope it plays out well for we their customers.

 

[Blackhorse]

Here's a totally ignorant position...mine. I don't know squat about the 'bidness' or who owns what...nor do I really care much. My personal bottom line is that blends I like are there when I want/need 'em.

The folks at Cornell & Diehl have given a lifetime of service to us all, and I surely hope they made a decent living in the process. They deserve it. But time marches ever on. I don't know how old those characters over there are, but they ALMOST look older than even ME!

So when someone yells and shakes his fist toward the sky about something like this, I figure maybe he's not angry at THEM...he's maybe just, angry. I know I am! I'm angry at being sore most of the time...at not being able to do the same things...at having to take a hand full of pills every morning so my clock will still be ticking so I can do it again the next morning...that a gorgeous babe of twenty can still make most of the same things happen inside me...but if I even mentioned it I'd be called rude names or worse...at knowing that this is the best I'm ever likely to feel again...it sucks.

And if I'd spent my life building an American institution like C&D I'd want to know that it would continue. And if joining with a fine outfit like they've done accomplishes that...then God bless them...every one.

:santa: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer:

 

[rothnh]

And if I'd spent my life building an American institution like C&D I'd want to know that it would continue. And if joining with a fine outfit like they've done accomplishes that...then God bless them...every one.

:santa: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer: :rendeer:

My heart went out to Chris Tarler when I read his take on this merger and how, after coming in to help his mom and dad in 2008, he could now finally, thanks to this merger, get back to blending tobacco.

To me, that's what it's all about.  As we see fine folks like Jack Peterson @ Sterling Tobacco go out of business, it's both inspiring and refreshing to see how C&D has found a way to continue to be a bright shining star, not only in the American boutique market but likely, with this merger, blossom out to our smaller B&Ms and European tobacconists as well.

 

[Gumball]

In a niche market it makes sense to join together and reduce the costs of the business. It may mean a reduction in choice for consumers, but that may be the price we have to pay for keeping these businesses viable.

 

[Briar Spirit]

Not sure what it will really mean in the long run, but Cornell and Diehl is merging with Laudisi (Smokingpipes.com)

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-news/cornell-diehl-to-merge-with-laudisi-enterprises-effective-january-1-2014/

I wish both business the best of luck and good fortune with their merging, two powerhouses getting together, can only mean good things in the long term, no doubt will be some hiccups along the way but in time I'll warrant we'll see some interesting things happening, awesome.

 

[Puff Daddy]

First of all Carlos, I don't see a need to get a itchy trigger finger on Mike's comments here.  Make no mistake, I do not agree with him whatsoever, but it is his opinion and I (as well as everyone else) should respect that.  I see no flame in his post -- Mike basically disagrees with bigger being better -- so?  BTW the bold type was a bit over the top as well.

Here's an idea rothn. When a moderator here makes a comment to a member about forum protocol and behavior and you feel the need to correct him, don't hit the send key. If you feel you must, (1) remember that you have been here a very short time, have not put your own sweat and tears into making this place work for years, and know nothing of the history of what we've gone through to manage some form of reasonable discourse. (2) Sign out and don't sign back in. It will save us the effort of permanently signing you out ourselves. Like most other forums we don't take administrative directives from members, and we do not recognize the misguided notion that just wandering in here and typing into the text box gives you any form of ownership. Ask the list of those who thought it did and are no longer welcome here. Carlos has put many years of work in here and deserves our respect when he steps in as moderator and feels he must make some sort of correction. If you don't like it, then don't like it. But don't step in and correct a moderator like you know what you're talking about and he doesn't. He gives you guys a lot of leeway. Me? I'd just delete your nonsense and lock you out if you did it a second time.

 

[idbowman]

I'll admit, my first reaction was similar to Mike's...but in my case it might just be my personal inclination to be wary of anything related to mergers/buyouts.  Gravel responded with the question "Bigger = Bad?" and, admittedly, my first though was "Well...yeah.  Yeah it is."  But in truth, I suppose I don't have any real reason to feel that way, particular in this case.

Actually, the more I think about it, this could be a very good thing for a hobby like ours.  Considering the non-stop pressure from the antis and the fact that B&Ms seem to be going the way of the buffalo, it might be that someone with a bigger-than-average advertising budget and a strong internet presence can keep their name - and the hobby - out there...and that might be of benefit to us all.  

I'd be interested to see if they end up putting out new blends under their own label now that they'll have CD under the umbrella.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Sykes built Laudisi, smokingpipes and Low Country respectably,  and always treated customers very, very well. Sometimes a company grows simply because they are run by good people. As they grew they did not lose sight of the importance of their customer base, and, in fact, they are very open in their communications. You will find them very accessable. When they gained the US distributorship for Savinelli things went very well for the enthusiast and consumer. I doubt you'll find anything but excellence going forward.

There is no monopoly, I still see the smaller guys competing very well.

 

[Hermit]

From the article:

We also spoke to Gregory Pease, Blendmeister at G.L. Pease Tobaccos, which are produced by Cornell & Diehl.
Pease asserts; "This is really exciting for me, opening the door for some wonderful new opportunities. Not only will it help expand distribution, making my blends more accessible to a wider audience, but it will also make possible some ideas that I’ve been thinking about for a long time, but just haven’t had the business resources to accomplish. I plan on creating more limited edition blends, and have some top secret new projects that I wasn’t able to do before the merger. Additionally, just having more marketing muscle behind the product is going to be good for the G. L. Pease brand overall."