Where are all the Displaced Master Blenders going?

[sablebrush52]

Sounds like a great company name. Displaced Master Blenders, DMB.

I dunno, DMB cones awfully close to DuMB. I'd go for a better set of initials.

 

[Chasing Embers]

You mean tired old mediocrity like most of the OTC blends that most piper smokers buy?

Oddly enough they are often better than the "boutique' blends. Those as well as the cigarette and chewing tobacco market are the only reason that pipe tobacco manufacturing is still holding on.

 

[sablebrush52]

I doubt it's "far too many" and "tired old mediocrity." How does "tired old mediocrity" afford to buy competitors? Bad management on the part of the acquired? Maybe. The desire for retirement? Possibly. Shareholders wanting a return? Many times.

Unless they are significantly better employees, I would favor keeping the "tried and true" and setting the "outliers" loose to their own ends. Not etched in stone though, depends entirely on what the new folks might bring to the table. It's always what is best for the company and not what is nice. Maybe some compensation, maybe not, for those heading into unemployment and position seeking. All depends on the circumstances.

I've gone through three corporate takeovers and the results were decidedly mixed. In a large corporation knowledge of who's good and who's only so so doesn't often extend beyond a couple of levels.

With each of the takeovers, the "conquerors" came in with a lot of swagger, a lot of ideas, and little understanding of what they were doing, though with Discovery there was a lot more knowledge than with AT&T, much less AOL.

 

[pappymac]

Only if the new are better than the old.
Otherwise, that would be the bad business.
Far too many takeovers retain the original employees and discard those from the new company. Result is same tired old mediocrity.
My company interviews everyone and keeps the best.

Whether the "new" employees are better than the "old" employees is a judgement call by the new owners/management. While you may feel the old blenders are better, the management at STG did not.

The following is speculative: There is also the possibility that there had been personality differences between Per George Jensen and Russ Ouellette and whomever made the decision to ouster the master blenders. We will never know.

Bottom line is that STG made the decision to not keep Jensen and Ouellette. That is the company's perogative.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Didn't Jensen separate from Mac Baren, long before the merger? And, does anyone know for sure that Russ is not going to be working for STG? I mean, I haven't heard anything either way, but we all are assuming and guessing, but really... we know nothing.

 

[Pypkė]

Oddly enough they are often better than the "boutique' blends. Those as well as the cigarette and chewing tobacco market are the only reason that pipe tobacco manufacturing is still holding on.

My point, which I came at obliquely. Aren't all of the OTC blends that dominate the pipe tobacco market in the USA from Denmark? Is there even one American manufacturer of "pouch tobacco?"

 

[woodsroad]

Whether the "new" employees are better than the "old" employees is a judgement call by the new owners/management. While you may feel the old blenders are better, the management at STG did not.

The following is speculative: There is also the possibility that there had been personality differences between Per George Jensen and Russ Ouellette and whomever made the decision to ouster the master blenders. We will never know.

Bottom line is that STG made the decision to not keep Jensen and Ouellette. That is the company's perogative.

Speculation, and questionable, too!

 

[fireground_piper]

My point, which I came at obliquely. Aren't all of the OTC blends that dominate the pipe tobacco market in the USA from Denmark? Is there even one American manufacturer of "pouch tobacco?"

The John Middleton blends come from Dominican Republic.

 

[woodsroad]

My point, which I came at obliquely. Aren't all of the OTC blends that dominate the pipe tobacco market in the USA from Denmark? Is there even one American manufacturer of "pouch tobacco?"

Most of the RYO/Inexpensive pipe tobacco products are made in USA (of foreign and domestic tobacco)

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