Leonard W Interviewed On YouTube By Big Apple Pipes

[Mike N]

This is the same channel and excellent interviewer that posted the first interview with Per Jensen that shed light on the STG takeover of MacBaren.

It was just uploaded today on YouTube by Big Apple Pipes. It’s very lengthy. Perhaps someone can locate and post a link here.

 

[Douglas]

 

[Mike N]

At the 34:40 mark Leonard estimates there are 1.0 to 1.2 million pipe smokers in the US. It’s interesting to have an actual industry expert put a number on this. He says pipe smoking compared to the1960s is a declining business but with great profit margins. He says their customer base is actually “growing.” He says about 50% of all pipe tobacco in the world is smoked in the US, France and Germany.

Earlier, the interviewer alluded to the fact that the Sutliff factory shutdown in Richmond happened much more quickly than it would have in Europe due to a lack of worker protection in such layoffs, and Leonard did not dispute that, but says the decision was made by an army of analysts at STG with him (Leonard) providing his recommendations.

Leonard notes that making something like cavendish is “really messy” and done by limited manufacturers. He says at the 44:30 mark that “Sutliff was profitable as a stand alone business“ when they made the decision to shut it down.

 

[Elric]

I haven't read any of his responses to date. Is he providing solid answers or towing the STG party line?

 

[Mike N]

At the 52:00 mark he explains the FDA 2007 “grandfather” provisions versus the “on the market in 2018” “substantially equivalent“ permissible blends. He says that “small batch” quantity has nothing to do with it. He says there were certain Sutliff blends that did not meet STG’s very conservative metrics of what is FDA “substantially equivalent.”

 

[Mike N]

At the 58:00 he tells how he led a group from the pipe tobacco industry that went to FDA headquarters in 2018 and presented statistics that convinced the FDA that flavored pipe tobacco was not attracting young users and flavoring in pipe tobacco did not need to be regulated.

About 50% of pipe smokers are over age 55….but he says research of pipe smokers forums indicated that only 34% of “new enthusiasts“ were over age 55 and that 62% of ”new enthusiasts“ like to try new brands.

Leonard discusses this Pipes Magazine forum at the 1:06 mark.

 

[super88piper]

It was a really interesting interview. More insight into the business side and some reading between the lines.

 

[NeoXerxes]

Biggest takeaway for me, if I understood it correctly: Latakia Flake and Old Dark Fired are continuing in German market, which means I can continue to get it though Estervals.

Whew…

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Biggest takeaway for me, if I understood it correctly: Latakia Flake and Old Dark Fired are continuing in German market, which means I can continue to get it though Estervals.

Whew…

I picked up on that too. Which blends are discontinued are dictated by market. What is discontinued here might still be available elsewhere and unless some regulation is enacted to prevent their import, they might still be available, altho at a price premium because of where you have to buy it from.

 

[NeoXerxes]

I picked up on that too. Which blends are discontinued are dictated by market. What is discontinued here might still be available elsewhere and unless some regulation is enacted to prevent their import, they might still be available, altho at a price premium because of where you have to buy it from.

Exactly, though I’m stocking up regardless because I’m not sure STG will be able to perfectly replicate what Mac Baren accomplished with their equipment and processes.

 

[Mike N]

Around the 1:48 mark:

STG will continue sponsorships and will be at the St. Louis and Chicago Pipe Shows;

STG will continue to maintain the Tobacco Reviews website. The site will be moved to a server in Denmark but the only thing users should notice is a requirement to reset their passwords.

Max Stokkebye (5th Generation) will make many of the decisions going forward about budgets for marketing etc and what pipe blends might come back, if any.

 

[Mike N]

Other outtakes:

Price increases are a fact of life to preserve profits in a declining market but Leonard is aware that demand is not very “elastic” and previous price increases by STG did not necessarily increase profits because they decreased demand.

The Chinese pipe tobacco market, while growing, is still much smaller than the markets in the US or Europe.

There has been no decision made about what will happen to the machinery at the Sutliff plant. Not clear that any buyer would be interested due to its age and the cost to disassemble, move, repair and reassemble these old machines. Donating some of it to a local museum is also a possibility to preserve the history.

 

[litup]

Some other things I thought I heard:

Lane 1-Q outsells the entire Sutliff line
Lane 1-Q does 22x the sales of Early Morning Pipe
Pipe tobacco production by volume has been decreasing about 10% a year.

I didn’t understand the reasoning behind HH ODF continuing to be sold in the German market when Leonard had previously disclosed that the entire German market only bought 100 pounds of it annually.

 

[mingc]

I didn’t understand the reasoning behind HH ODF continuing to be sold in the German market when Leonard had previously disclosed that the entire German market only bought 100 pounds of it annually.

I'm guessing STG's conservative approach to substantial equivalence under the FDA's rules is the reason they're not continuing to sell it in the US.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Around the 1:48 mark:

Max Stokkebye (5th Generation) will make many of the decisions going forward about budgets for marketing etc and what pipe blends might come back, if any.

He's also going back to Denmark, so the face you will see at the tobacco shows is once again "The Darth Vader" of tobacco. (He chuckled when BAP called him that) He seems like a likable guy that was tasked with giving a shitty recommendation.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

I'm guessing STG's conservative approach to substantial equivalence under the FDA's rules is the reason they're not continuing to sell it in the US.

From what I gathered, the FDA wasn't doing much analysis or enforcement on that "substantial equivalence" thing. Companies were submitting stuff that plainly didn't meet criteria knowing that once the FDA did look at it, it would be denied. STG just wasn't going to go that route and wasn't going to invest in products that were doomed from the outset.

 

[Mike N]

I like watching StuffandThings on YouTube for pipe tobacco content. “Our Good Friend Bradley” broke some interesting news about the STG/MacBaren deal a few weeks ago (13,000 views.) In Sunday‘s edition he talks about the Big Apple interview with Leonard but because he did not have time to watch the entire 2 hours, quoted extensively from the summaries in this thread, with attribution, of course.

 

[9mmpuffer]

After watching, it seems to me that the issue is a source(s) for quality lead. Blending is important but without quality leaf, the industry is basically dead.

 

[NeoXerxes]

This was a very frustrating interview because he almost gave me an answer for a burning question, but stopped short….

I can’t figure out if 4th Generation 1931 is at risk. I’ve heard contradictory information about whether or not it is currently manufactured by Mac Baren or STG, and I’m wondering if I should stock up.

 

[Warlee]

…and I’m wondering if I should stock up.

The answer is always yes.

These days I think it is prudent to get a decent stash going of your favorite blends.