A Look at STG Internal Documents Regarding the Mac Baren / Sutliff Buyout

[LeafErikson]

This is mostly a fun thread, but I urge everyone to take this thread with a pinch of salt.

Firstly, for folks that haven’t been here for very long, I am no tobacco industry expert, as no one is here. But, I have been coaching a debate team for over a decade and I have been involved with debate for a very long time, and here are a few pointers I have for everyone to better guide their dollars and senses as they tool through these threads.

Words are powerful, and someone can delicately word something to make a lie seem like the truth. Some, suck at this, and it’s obvious, but some are masters. Debate is a word game played with research, and I could give you a thousand examples of how this works.

What the company says, is the least valuable words to play with. Coca Cola for example will release multiple statements that conflict with themselves to play all sides of an argument. This is why when a tobacco company comes on here and tells us all something, I take it with a whole CAKE of salt. One, they can’t control any promises from the moment it comes out of their mouth, and like all humans they are just speculating the same as anyone else in the world and on the forum. And, they have an interest to protect, more so than anyone else in the conversation. So, I take anything a company releases skeptically. I can either use the bullshit or reject it as bullshit. The one thing a company could tell us that I would put stock in, is if they told us that they were closing.

There is truth within in all news reports. It just might not be the truth that the reporter is trying to make. I include people leaking bullshit, reporting on someone else’s reporting, or even baldfaced lies. All of this valuable and can be used to make either side of a resolution.

So, ultimately, STG has not told us anything (at least in what has been released to the forums). They probably won’t if they are smart.
We are relying on folks that call themselves insiders. We don’t really know what is going on, except that someone (or some people) wants us to know something. This all started as someone reporting from the perspective of a laid off worker.
We also know that something IS going to happen. We are just not sure what exactly.

On the negative, it looks like we will lose a lot of blends, and we hate that. Any reduction in choices makes us angry. Even if a blend like Mixture 79 that only the mentally deranged like, makes us all upset. :::cough cough:::
Most likely, according to the history of this company, many will have recipe changes and they will rely on the labels on the tins to continue selling these.

On the positive, maybe we will get a slew of new blends. Who knows, the FDA “event” brought us a whole new set of series of limited run blends. Yeah!!! :::cough cough:::

Things we do not know for certain… we aren’t exactly sure what is going to happen to the equipment. We also don’t know for sure the STG has the interest of pipe smoking in their interest at all. I can buy myself a seat at that board table. Anyone can. It could be loaded with anti-smoking do gooders. This is a small danger when turning into a public corporation. You can’t vet who is taking a seat at the table. And, the CEO is ONLY beholden to that table. No one else at all. (period)

BUT… it is fun to speculate. This is why we on this forum enjoy discussion of these topics, and we only enjoy when a rep from a company speaks on here if it adds to our discussions.

The only point I would want anyone to take away from my contributions to this thread is… there is no certainty of anything. If you would be heartbroken to lose a blend, buy the motherfucking hell out of it. I hate to see people get hurt, and emotions hurt. But, be proactive, not some whiny douche. :::cough cough:::

Also, don’t rely on tin labels. Don’t root for corporations. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t rely too much on what a company says.

But, please, continue if what you have to say is fun, or adds something new to the discussion.

Do you mean to tell me that when Tony the Tiger said “Frosted Flakes are more than good, they’re grrrreat!” That they were in fact only good? Or even bad?

I don’t know how to feel about the world anymore…

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Do you mean to tell me that when Tony the Tiger said “Frosted Flakes are more than good, they’re grrrreat!” That they were in fact only good? Or even bad?

I don’t know how to feel about the world anymore…

I hate to break it to you, but Tony didn't work for Kelloggs, he was "owned" by them.
I know, its a terrible world.

 

[MisterBadger]

If you’re bitching about the business decision that was made, and buying the shit out of what’s left, I think there’s something wrong.

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

 

[Snook]

Name doesn't ring a bell. Might've been before my time. I do recall Tuff Tony. Remember him? Dude was always going on about washing pipe cleaners so you could reuse them.

Maybe he was on to something... pipe cleaners don't grow on trees, you know!

 

[LeafErikson]

I hate to break it to you, but Tony didn't work for Kelloggs, he was "owned" by them.
I know, its a terrible world.

In school, they taught us that Tony the Tiger was captured from a jungle in far out in India before being trained by big daddy Kellogg back in America. Back before his capture in India, Tony spent his days trying to hunt down an elusive Indian child and everyone called him ‘Shere Khan’.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

Well... it depends on several things. Does the leaf and process cost more than other blends. This could mean that you'd have to sell a significant percentage more.

Also, it depends on the pencil necks in charge of product lines... do they know that when they see on a spreadsheet that blend X is selling less than product Z, that product X maybe have only ever been marketed to the US, making the numbers look skewed.
You can never tell with pencil necks, whether they understand the big picture.

Also, does keeping Blend X, that may be the only blend with some special process or leaf not found in any other product worth buy the leaf or process with the sales it generates.

Also, there may be other obstacles that none of us are privy too.

For example, maybe keeping the Peterson name on some blends violates some contract help with another company.

 

[Speak Easy]

My TAD is going to be so wild after the first of the year David Attenborough will be narrating it.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

Yes. Immediately raise the price

 

[Chasing Embers]

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

That was probably calculated. Announce the buy so they could have a massive sells boost prior to ending production.

 

[jpberg]

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

I don’t think so.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Maybe he was on to something... pipe cleaners don't grow on trees, you know!

Of course they don't. They're made from wire and sheep. Everyone knows that

 

[Homer]

If you read the Q3 result of STG they say that MacBaren is leading global smoking tobacco company, which includes strong portfolio of pipe tobacco brands. They are trying to increase the sales of MacBaren instead of destroying it.

 

[sablebrush52]

Well, if their sales of our favourite and potentiallly endangered blends start to rise significantly, that's going to send them an important message, no?

Nope. They've made a strategic decision. They would expect that fans of these blenders would rush to buy. It simplifies things for STG, with less scraps left over. It's possible that some blends that clearly stand out will be considered for survival and future use, but STG seems to be focused on reducing offerings to a selection of most profitable.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

In order that you may be in full alignment with this activity, you may wish to stock up on this:

View attachment 355520

Was “Diehl” misspelled as “Deihl” on all of the tins, or is this a rare collector “chase” version?

 

[sablebrush52]

If you read the Q3 result of STG they say that MacBaren is leading global smoking tobacco company, which includes strong portfolio of pipe tobacco brands. They are trying to increase the sales of MacBaren instead of destroying it.

Possibly. Quarterly statements are advertising.

 

[Homer]

STG:
SIMPLIFY EVERYTHING WE DO
We want to reduce complexity and make it easier to drive the business by simplifying portfolios, operations and back office functions. We will simplify our IT infrastructure, increase digitalization across the value chain, streamline the supply chain and establish simpler and more efficient distribution.

 

[sablebrush52]

Was “Diehl” misspelled as “Deihl” on all of the tins, or is this a rare collector “chase” version?

Probably the latter. The ability to spell is vanishing faster than the ability to read. This probably got past QC and by the time someone noticed it was too late. I doubt that it will ever be as valuable as an upside down Jenny.

 

[Homer]

Possibly. Quarterly statements are advertising.

Maybe in USA but in EU they have to give real information.

 

[sablebrush52]

STG:
SIMPLIFY EVERYTHING WE DO
We want to reduce complexity and make it easier to drive the business by simplifying portfolios, operations and back office functions. We will simplify our IT infrastructure, increase digitalization across the value chain, streamline the supply chain and establish simpler and more efficient distribution.

That suggests decreasing the range of blends.

 

[sablebrush52]

Maybe in USA but in EU they have to give real information.

They have to give real information in the USA, but they can "spin" the meaning of it.