Are we really losing that much with the closures of Mac Baren and Sutliff?

[Warlee]

To be fair, this (profitability assessment) can happen to all blends by whatever manufacturer, right?
Otherwise they'll be losing money and risk going down as well.

Even though we hope blenders is doing stuff just to please us pipe smokers, I think that without profitability we will lose all blends in the end, Right?
I'm really sad over this Mac Baren/Sutliff ordeal, but I think it is unfair to blame STG only... Some blame should also be put on the previous Mac Baren owners, though MOST of the blame should be thrown hard at our regulating bodies; EU, US etc, governments, politicians.. the really evil taxating ones. Booh them.

(And no, this is not a political post. I just happened to mention some political institutes in a tobacco blame game)

You are correct that businesses must remain profitable. But no one said Mac Baren or Sutliff was unprofitable. In fact Per Jenson said they were making very good money. STG wants the most profitable blends that are able to be produced at their more modern, high volume factories. If it doesn’t meet those two criteria, it sounds like they don’t want to make it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You are correct that businesses must remain profitable. But no one said Mac Baren or Sutliff was unprofitable. In fact Per Jenson said they were making very good money. STG wants the most profitable blends that are able to be produced at their more modern, high volume factories. If it doesn’t meet those two criteria, it sounds like they don’t want to make it.

I am not an STG fan by a long shot, but what Per has said about the company he works for is just what anyone would say. Who in the hell would come on here and say, "my company is struggling to stay afloat"? That is a sure fire start of a death march. Fact is, no one here on this forum really knows what the books looked like at either of these companies.

STG owns them now. Sutliff and MacBaren let this happen. Fuck them too. If a company was doing well, they would not be here now like this.

 

[telescopes]

It bears repeating… There is NO such thing as Benovelent Capitalism.

 

[Chasing Embers]

It bears repeating… There is NO such thing as Benovelent Capitalism.

To believe ANY "ism" is benevolent is folly.

 

[DedHed Piper]

You are correct that businesses must remain profitable. But no one said Mac Baren or Sutliff was unprofitable. In fact Per Jenson said they were making very good money. STG wants the most profitable blends that are able to be produced at their more modern, high volume factories. If it doesn’t meet those two criteria, it sounds like they don’t want to make it.

Yes, he did. But at the same time the Mac Baren family wanted to sell the company because they were panicking due to loss of revenue after some shitty corporate turns. Ok, they could’ve turned the boat around again, but they chickened out.

STG was there to snatch it up, and in turn capitalise on some blends and less competition. Sad, yes, but it’s not only STGs fault, is what I’m saying.

 

[Lucro]

From what I've been able to piece together Newminster is done. (Since it was basically intended to replace PS while it was out of the US market. So for while we've had both, with some unique blends and others that overlap.)

Now PS is supposedly made by STG in Denmark already so prob "safe" for now. But as was mentioned before, by 2028 STG wants to also cut out existing blends from their portfolio, even after gutting what they just acquired. So while the Peterson/Dunhill blends and PS is safe for now you may wake up one day a year or 3 from now and find that the Peterson line has gone from 24 blends to 4. Or the PS line from 18 to 3.

Basically anything STG is still up in the air. Heck, they may reevaluate that list they put out in 2027 and say "the profitability of capstan blue and st Bruno has fallen off lately, sorry"
If it's STG and you like it, get it while you can.

Thank you for the advice. I will continue stocking up on capstan blue. I already expected it to drop off in quality once STG takes over production. I smoke so irregularly 10 more tins should do me

 

[renfield]

It bears repeating… There is NO such thing as Benovelent Capitalism.

Nor is capitalism inherently malevolent.

 

[telescopes]

Nor is capitalism inherently malevolent.

Greed and power are. Which is why capitalism has always needed guard rails. Honestly, my statement made earlier required no asterisks and wasn’t a political or ideological statement and directly addressed the statement it was responding to. This is like the fourth clarification someone felt the need to add to a statement that was simple in its own context.

 

[Philosophical Smoke]

How much will the blends that are left change with STG at the wheel? That's the biggest question I have.

Business is business. No need to get up in arms about any of it. Change is inevitable.

The only thing you can count on in your few short years on this earth is nothing stays the same.

 

[Mike N]

Yes, he did. But at the same time the Mac Baren family wanted to sell the company because they were panicking due to loss of revenue after some shitty corporate turns. Ok, they could’ve turned the boat around again, but they chickened out.

STG was there to snatch it up, and in turn capitalise on some blends and less competition. Sad, yes, but it’s not only STGs fault, is what I’m saying.

When Per mentioned Mac Baren’s apparently ill-fated bet on “SNUS,” I was unfamiliar with the term. Here is what Wikipedia says about it (I am a Wikipedia donor so I don’t mind cutting and pasting):

Snus (/snuːs/, SNOOSS; Swedish: [ˈsnʉːs] ⓘ) is a Swedish tobacco product (in Scandinavia). It is consumed by placing a pouch of powdered tobacco leaves under the lip for nicotine to be absorbed through the oral mucosa.[1] Snus, not to be confused with nicotine pouches, consists of ground up tobacco leaves, salt, an alkalizer (e.g. sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate) and (optionally) flavorings. The final product is sold as both loose tobacco, and in portions with the tobacco mixture contained in a small teabag-like pouch.

 

[Zamora]

When Per mentioned Mac Baren’s apparently ill-fated bet on “SNUS,” I was unfamiliar with the term. Here is what Wikipedia says about it (I am a Wikipedia donor so I don’t mind cutting and pasting):

Snus (/snuːs/, SNOOSS; Swedish: [ˈsnʉːs] ⓘ) is a Swedish tobacco product (in Scandinavia). It is consumed by placing a pouch of powdered tobacco leaves under the lip for nicotine to be absorbed through the oral mucosa.[1] Snus, not to be confused with nicotine pouches, consists of ground up tobacco leaves, salt, an alkalizer (e.g. sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate) and (optionally) flavorings. The final product is sold as both loose tobacco, and in portions with the tobacco mixture contained in a small teabag-like pouch.

I believe it's banned in the EU with Sweden being exempt, so I'd imagine a Danish company would've had serious challenges making it unless they did it in Sweden or possibly Norway or Switzerland. I think it's wild the EU has the authority to ban something for all members but I digress

 

[Zamora]

Thank you for the advice. I will continue stocking up on capstan blue. I already expected it to drop off in quality once STG takes over production. I smoke so irregularly 10 more tins should do me

I'll probably get more myself for that reason, it's probably too late for me to build up a decent supply before enshitification but I wouldn't mind getting a few tins to be able to smoke one every few years and see how it changes. My smoking rate is low enough that it should be easy for me to stretch rations of a blend over a long time, that won't change unless I get an air purifier or smoking shed to smoke indoors in which case I'll just adapt by widening my cellar.

I'm definitely continuing my long term plans for deep cellaring PS Luxury Navy Flake. I might start stocking up on English Oriental Supreme too but I'm not sure how well that ages

 

[sablebrush52]

To believe ANY "ism" is benevolent is folly.

Smart!

 

[sablebrush52]

now. Sutliff and MacBaren let this happen. Fuck them too.

Sutliff? Really? What say did they have in the matter? They haven’t been an independent company for 50 years.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sutliff? Really? What say did they have in the matter? They haven’t been an independent company for 50 years.

That’s what I mean.