I may give in and buy a couple pounds more of Virginia Flake. Really liking that blend as it ages. Have 6 to 8 pounds now. I have in the range of 10 pounds of HH Pure Virginia, that is enough.
STG closes Mac Baren and Sutliff
- Thread starter eyjaygaming
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Or, people who realize the long term outlook for pipe tobacco companies isn't promising. Grab the money and get out while the getting is good.
They just took over MacBaren five months ago. It's not like they were dragging around a deadbeat company that was dragging them down. They literally just bought these companies and immediately started killing it off. Why wouldn't they have had a long-term negative outlook back in July?
Basically what it amounts to is that they want to kill off all competition and be the only game in the EU. Basically, they are flipping off all pipesmokers, knowing that in the EU they will soon be the only game in town.
What I don't understand is how shuttering these entities benefits them. Aren't Sutliff and Mac Baren both highly popular and profitable brands? Wouldn't the acquisition itself have eliminated competition and increased value to shareholders, if that's what they're after?
Holy crap! That is just sad. Better try everything that want to now. Sorry kids, no Christmas presents this year. 
Acquisition is all about extracting profit. It’s not about if the business is profitable, it’s about how much more money they can make above that by milking the brand. If they can acquire it, cut cost substantially by closing factories and streamlining the product offerings to just the most profitable brands, they will make huge amounts of money. It doesn’t matter if product quality plummets and the brand eventually fizzles out. It will take most people awhile to catch on but they will have made their money by then.
I’m not sure if that is their plan exactly. One should look at what they have done with acquisitions in the past I suppose.
If what they did to Escudo is any indicator, they'll turn all of the MacB's blends to shit.
Pack cardboard in the tins until everyone figures it out. Then change the names and sell more cardboard. Eventually sell the assets piece by piece.
Translation; become more efficient, profitable, and lower quality and character…
Yes, prevalent perhaps, but not all companies do that.
P.S. Please put your location in your Profile!
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They are not killing off the brands, they are simply looking for synergies to optimize production and increase profits.
At the moment they are having a lot of duplicates (like finance, logistics, hr etc) and on production they can leverage economies of scale by producing as much as possible under the same roof, fully using the machineries and adding some workforce.
That to me is clear in Denmark, it is really less clear about USA though, why the need to shut down Sutliff that is located really far away from Denmark, it serves a different market with a different know how.
Furthermore, MacBaren USA includes:
tobaccopipes.com
cupojoes.com
tobaccoreviews.com
what will happen to those entities?
And Sutliff manufactures for many B&M but also for more well known brands like Peretti and Seattle Pipe Club, probably more.
What will happen to them??? Will Danish-made Seattle Pipe Club or Peretti be the same?
Where did you see that about the US facilities? It is not in the article you posted.
Near the end of the article:
The first consequence of the acquisition will be the dismissal of the management team, which will take place within the next eight to ten days. However, it is not only the factory in Svendborg that is affected by STG's new strategy. Mac Baren facilities in the US will also be closed as part of the restructuring.
Now that I read it again, the article does not say ALL Mac Baren facilities in the US will also be closed. But the article was a interview summary, and I'd caution against reading too much between the lines in an effort to extract more than what was presented.
Oh, come on people. STG isn't all bad. After all, it rescued the main Dunhill blends, didn't it?
Having said that,
GET YOUR MIXTURE 79 NOW, BEFORE IT'S ALL GONE!!!
Having said that,
GET YOUR MIXTURE 79 NOW, BEFORE IT'S ALL GONE!!!
No official pronouncement from STG, either. I'd caution against overreacting based on a single line from a crudely translated article.
I was physically there during the announcement. While I'm not authorized to speak about the planned new portfolio strategy etc., this Danish press article is factually correct.
1. Yes! 2. I work for Mac Baren, which is owned by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group.
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