Alec Bradley - A Family Business

Alec Bradley - A Family Business by Michel Arlia

Credit - Cigar Lovers Magazine

Alan Rubin moved from the family business that his father built to creating his own. With no background in the tobacco industry, he dove into the world of cigars and launched a brand dedicated to his two sons. Now, 25 years later, the Alec Bradley Cigar Co. has become a fixture in the industry, and the two sons have long since joined the company. We interview the patriarch, Alan Rubin, and talk with him about the past, present, and future of Alec Bradley Cigar Co.

Celebrating a quarter-century in any industry is a monumental achievement. Tell us what Alan Rubin did before entering the cigar industry? When did your love for cigars start?

I came from the fastener business. I joined my dad after college, we originally sold fasteners to cabinet companies, but after Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, I changed the direction of the company and started to sell hurricane fasteners. My love for cigars began in the Miami office of my best friend’s father. He was a very successful businessman and had a beautiful humidor sitting in his office. On a visit, he noticed me admiring it and offered me a cigar. I fell in love with the history and tradition! That’s when my love for cigars began.

Twenty-five years ago, you decided to sell your family’s business and start your venture into the cigar world. What did your father think about the idea? And why did you choose to go into the cigar industry instead of another one? 

I was always close with my dad, and he supported me in everything I did. When I decided to sell the company, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next. One of my employees pointed out that he always saw me with a cigar, and I should give that business a try. I took some time for myself and weighed all my options. I decided to ask my friend and tobacconist if there was an industry trade show- which I found out there was, at the time, the RTDA. He invited me to go, and unlike the fastener business, I saw an industry united together, where competitors were friendly to each other, and there was a general camaraderie. 

Alec Bradley Cigars is named after your two sons. Was the name of the company clear from the beginning, or did you have other names in mind? 

One thing my dad always told me was to start a company’s name with the letter “A” because it’s at the beginning of the Yellow Pages. When I was 10, I realised that my dad’s delivery truck read “Gloria Alan Industries”- the Alan was me. I never forgot the pride I felt when I saw that, so I wanted my kids to have that same feeling. The name was always going to be Alec Bradley.

The company was founded back in 1996, towards the end of the cigar boom of the 90s. How was the industry, and what were the first couple of years for the company like?

I came in at the tail end of the boom years, now known as the cigar bust, not the best time to start a cigar company. I sold my first cigars in ’97, Bogey’s Stogies, to golf courses. “The only bogie you’ll ever enjoy on the golf course.” I was also big on taglines at the time. As a Floridian, I thought that everyone across the country golfed 12 months a year, but that obviously wasn’t the case. So I struggled but persevered for the first few years and realised that to be successful, I’d have to get Alec Bradley into premium cigar stores. 

You had to learn every aspect of cigars from the ground up. Who were some of your biggest influences, and what life lessons have you learned through cigars? 

I’m always learning, and I’ll never stop learning about tobacco. My biggest influence on my dreams and career has always been my dad. As far as the cigar business, I can’t say that I have many influences, but I can say that I surround myself with great people. My friend and VP, Ralph Montero, grew up in the cigar business. When we were both struggling, we had a happenstance meeting and eventually joined forces. He was close with Henke Kelner of Davidoff, and the Alec Bradley Occidental Reserve was created, the cigar that got us into premium cigar shops. 

In 1999, your company was almost going out of business. What was the turning point, and what would you do if things wouldn’t have worked out? 

I had a partner that left in April of 1999. The company was about $80k in debt, and I had about $3000 in our company checking account. I told my wife that I didn’t know if I could get myself out of the financial mess but that I would stay in long enough to pay off my debts and then get out. The turning point happened when Hendrik Kelner (Henke) of the Davidoff brand got me some samples of cigars. Remember that it was the bust, so everyone was looking for any additional production. I got samples from Henke, thought I would give it one last shot, and created the Occidental Reserve line. Instead of sending salespeople out to pitch the product, we sent 500 tobacconists two samples each of the cigars, without pricing. We followed up with 500 phone calls to ask the retailers if they could sell it and at what price. We got about 300 customers from that.

You work together with a couple of different factories, such as the Plasencia family (with factories in Honduras and Nicaragua), the Endemaño’s Raices Cubanas in Honduras. In 2019, you also started working with the J. Fuego Cigar Co. de Nicaragua factory. How did you approach and decide which factory it was worth working with? 

It’s all about persistence and relationships. While everyone was getting out during the bust, I was the guy that kept going to cigar-producing countries and factories- so everyone knew I had skin in the game. Business aside, if I can connect with a person on a human level, have a drink with that person, and we can understand each other’s needs and desires that's the partner for me.

Wouldn’t it be easier to have your own factory or fields? Is that even an option you have thought about? 

I’ve thought about it, and I really don’t need a building in Central America. As long as I continue to own the tobacco, I feel secure. I look at decisions by balancing risk with reward. Right now, the risks of owning anything other than the leaf, the lifeblood of my company, outweigh the possible rewards. Plus, we are highly vested with many of our partners.

Over this quarter-century, your portfolio has grown immensely, from the Trilogy (a triangular cigar), Tempus, Prensado, and many more, to the new Project 40. How do you approach making new lines from idea to finished product? Has that process changed over the years? 

My process has changed many times over the years, but my goal is always to bring the best cigars to market while being creative and innovative. We are continuously blending throughout the year, and now that Alec and Bradley are also hyper-focused on blend and brand creation, there’s always a lot of excitement about new potential projects to add to the portfolio. That being said, we are not a company that launches new products every year. We are very selective as to how our portfolio grows and how we can positively affect our consumers.

You discontinued the Mundial, Nica Puro, and Post Embargo lines early this year and others in the past . What makes you take the difficult decision to discontinue a line? 

We rationalise lines for many reasons. The line may have been around for a while, and the packaging style no longer works within our marketing strategy, or one of the tobaccos needed for that blend is in shortage, or we want to replace that line with something new and don’t want to saturate that segment of our portfolio. Sometimes the line just didn’t perform to our expectations. When you put your heart and soul into each line, you don’t want to see it go away, but sometimes it’s necessary. 

You have seen how the cigar retail has changed from Brick & Mortar to Online-Shops and how customers have become more interested in details. Are the B&M’s absolute? How have the interactions with customers changed? 

Both Brick & Mortar and online have their place for enthusiasts. There has been an increased consumer movement to Brick & Mortar tobacconists over the last few years, but consumers also want reliable information that is easily accessible. There is a lot of information out there, including the great format that Cigarslover provides, that enthusiasts want to know. They want to use that knowledge to maximize their experience. Being in a shop is where they can discuss cigars with their peers and engage with the tobacconist. Now that we’re beginning to leave Covid behind, people just want to interact with people, and the role of the Brick & Mortar tobacconist will continue to be important to the cigar community. 

With 25 years in the bag, how do the next 25 years for Alec Bradley Cigars look like? Do you have a goal in mind where you want to see the company before you retire? 

The next 25 years look bright. Alec and Bradley are fully entrenched in the business and the industry. We continue to build and add to our Alec Bradley team and what I feel is the most dynamic group of passionate young professionals in the industry. I really have not set company goals based on me retiring, but annually, we do set direction, revenue, and philanthropy goals, and I don’t expect that to change. I’m not sure I would necessarily retire, but I do see myself taking a lesser role over the next few years. I am truly blessed, so I don’t know what retirement would look like or if it would look better than where I am today.