Tor Imports

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Tor Imports's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Tor Imports is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.tor-imports.co.uk

1TOR IMPORTS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

Tors’ temperature and humidity-

controlled storage humidor

Team Tor

Tor Imports operates in one of the country’s most strictly

legislated markets. Founded in 1992, it supplies UK-based

retailers with a premium range of cigars and other high-

end tobacco products, all of which are imported from some of

the best manufacturers in the world. As a sign of the quality

products that Director Scott Vines works with, Tor exclusively

distributes eight of the last 14 cigars voted the best in the world

by industry-leading magazine,

Cigar Aficionado

Once you mention the word tobacco, there’s usually a sharp intake of breath. But

like most things in life, the truth is not simply black and white. There is a world of

difference between a mass-produced cigarette and a fine, premium, hand-rolled

cigar, which is designed to be enjoyed.

Artisanal products aimed at adults

We employ a small team of ten and primarily supply a range of handmade premium

cigars imported from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico, as

well as a range of pipe tobaccos and high-end associated accessories to retailers,

specialist stores, hotels and restaurants in the UK. We do not distribute cigarettes.

Our major problem is that we get caught in the cigarette crossfire. Our most

popular size of cigar is what’s called a Robusto. Depending on the brand and the

type and age of tobacco leaf included, this cigar may retail at between £10 and

£50 – each. Premium cigars are no gateway tobacco product; children don’t drop

by the cigar specialist store to pick them up. The type of tobacco used in hand-

rolled cigars is completely different to that used to make cigarettes; no chemicals

FACTS ABOUT

TOR IMPORTS

»Director: Scott Vines

»Founded in 1992

»Based in Devon

»Services: Hand-rolled cigars,

pipe tobacco and accessories

»No. of employees: 10

»Supplier of the Year for the

Association of Independent

Tobacco Specialists; 2016 and

2018

»www.tor-imports.co.uk

Tor Imports

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| TOR IMPORTS

or preservatives are added. Cigars are

simply the dried, rolled leaves of a

strain of black tobacco.

We see our cigars as a lifestyle choice,

just like drinking in moderation.

The entire premium cigar category

is less than one per cent of tobacco

consumption in the UK. Unfortunately,

we are treated the same as

multinational companies selling billions

of cigarettes. We must ensure we fully

comply with all statutory requirements,

such as placing health warning stickers –

by hand – on every cigar box and tin of

pipe tobacco. In 2017, the management

time and cost of implementing new

EU TPD2 legislation was ten per cent

of our gross margin and, to ensure

compliance, this overhead keeps

increasing. For a small rural business of

our size, that’s hard to swallow.

Education

We spend a lot of time educating the

trade about how this artisanal business

supports families living in poverty

in Central America. We co-ordinate

educational trips for our customers to

Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic

to visit the cigar factories and the

people who make them so skilfully.

We also act in an advisory capacity

for our customers – telling them what

they must do to make sure they are

compliant with constantly evolving

legislation. That helps them to focus on

selling the products, comfortable in the

knowledge that they are compliant.

Most of our customers and clients

are family-owned businesses. Joya de

Nicaragua, for example, is Nicaragua’s

oldest premium cigar manufacturer

and has managed to keep its doors

open through war, revolution and

crippling poverty over the past 50

years. They support hundreds of

families in Central America’s poorest

country, helping finance scholarships,

healthcare and food to bring a better

life to these proud people. Ambassador

Guisell Morales-Echaverry, from the

Embassy of Nicaragua explained:

“ I wish to highlight the

significance of the cigar industry

in Nicaragua, where we can

vehemently affirm that it is

one of the cornerstones for

combating poverty.

Above all, the cigar industry

is one of families, from co-

operatives of growers and

producers to owners and

importers, like Tor Imports. In

the last few years, the industry

has experienced a steady

growth. By 2015, according to

the Nicaraguan Central Bank,

it generated 11.5 per cent of

the total employment under the

free zone regime and globally

exported US$200 million, which

represents 6.2 per cent of the

total country exports. Today,

the cigar industry is one of the

largest employers in the country.

Lastly, when one thinks of cigars,

one should not only think about

the passion of cigar smoking, but

also be mindful as policymakers

and consumers, of the benefits

that this industry brings to

developing nations and to British

family businesses.”

La Joya tobacco fields in

Estelí, Nicaragua

We spend a

lot of time

educating the

trade about

how this

artisanal

business

supports

families living

in poverty in

Central

America

“

3TOR IMPORTS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

At our base in Devon, we maintain a

bonded warehouse, which is humidity

and temperature controlled. Cigars are

created purely from an organic product

and if treated with care and kept in

the right conditions, they can be laid

down – and can improve in flavour –

for decades. Each cigar will have passed

through up to 300 pairs of hands

before it reaches the end user; the

harvest of its leaves will be many years

in the past. Tobacco leaf improves and

mellows after careful ageing, and the

cigar connoisseur can pick out these

subtle and complex notes in the smoke.

Cigars are tasted, never inhaled.

As a business, we face a significant

duty burden, but we are resigned to

it and consider it a cost of operating

in our chosen sector despite many UK

end users choosing to buy their cigars

from lower tax jurisdictions.

Looking at new opportunities

Track and trace security for handmade

cigars is coming in 2024, which is

another major headache for our

business. A handmade product – and

one made with certain leaves from

certain parts of plants grown in certain

parts of certain fields in countries

spread across the world – is incredibly

difficult, if not impossible, to trace.

In the last 12 months, we purchased the

Charatan brand from British American

Tobacco. Within that brand portfolio

is our best-selling cigar, handmade in

Nicaragua. We also manufacture and

market the Torjet lighter – a market-

leading jet flame lighter distributed

primarily within the convenience sector

in the UK. We are looking to expand into

other world markets with both products.

Our business key performance indicators

moving forward are very simple. We

must try and keep that all-important

balance between innovation, quality

and value on the product side and

profit, cash flow and stock availability

on the commercial side. We work in a

very tough operating environment, but

it remains a pleasure to deal with the

many families at both ends of our supply

chain, who have become our customers

– and, more importantly, our friends.

We hope that we can continue to

forge and support these relationships

at home and abroad – and continue to

be able to meet the demands of anti-

tobacco legislation without losing our

raison d’être – who we are and what

we represent. We’re a small business

dealing with a luxury product; and we

all need one of those in our lives every

now and again.

Each cigar will

have passed

through up to

300 pairs of

hands before

it reaches the

end user

“

Joya de Nicaragua

cigar rolling floor at

Nicaragua’s oldest Cigar

manufacturer, Estelí,

Nicaragua

www.tor-imports.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Tor Imports. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Michael Gove.

Rt Hon Michael Gove's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Michael Gove

This year's Parliamentary Review comes at a momentous time for parliament, as we collectively determine the destiny of the United Kingdom.

On October 31, the UK will leave the European Union. The successful implementation of this process is this government's number-one priority.

Three years after a historic referendum vote, we will deliver on the decisive mandate from the British people. Trust in our democracy depends on it. Until that final hour, we will work determinedly and diligently to negotiate a deal, one that abolishes the backstop and upholds the warm and close relationship we share with our friends, allies and neighbours in the EU. But in the event that the EU refuses to meet us at the table, we must be prepared to leave without a deal.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, it is my job to lead on this government's approach, should that scenario happen. Preparing for Brexit is my department's driving mission. But while I am leading this turbocharged effort, the whole of government is committed to this endeavour.

Ministers across Whitehall are working together to ensure that every possibility is considered, every plan is scrutinised and every provision is made. A daily drumbeat of meetings means that we are holding departments accountable, so that preparations are completed on time.

The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. And we have mobilised thecivil service, assigning 15,000 of our most talented civil servants to manage our exit from the EU.

We will make sure that on November 1, there is as little disruption to national life as possible. Our trade relationships will continue to thrive, thanks to agreements with countries around the world worth £70 billion. Our country will remain secure, thanks to nearly 1,000 new officers posted at our borders. And the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us can remain confident, with absolute certainty, of their right to remain in the UK.

Above all, our goal is to be transparent. Soon, we will launch a public information campaign so that citizens, communities and businesses are ready and reassured about what will happen in the event of “no deal”.

In my first few weeks in this role, I have travelled to ports and tarmacs, borders and bridges, all across the UK –from the seaside of Dover to the rolling green hills of County Armagh. I have heard from business owners and border officials, farmers and hauliers. They are ready to put an end to uncertainty. And they are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our departure from the EU will be a once in a lifetime chance to chart a new course for the United Kingdom. Preparing for that new course will be a herculean effort. But this country has made astounding efforts before. We can do it again.

Rt Hon Michael Gove
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster