Leadership Change at Villiger
European cigar giant Villiger Söhne AG has made a change at the top of its U.S. subsidiary, removing Roy E. MacLaren and Fabian Barrantes from their positions. MacLaren served as president of Villiger Cigars North America and Barrantes was the North American marketing director. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The move was made by Villiger due to differing opinions on how best to target the U.S. market.
Villiger is best known for its dry-cured, machine-made cigars, and it sells roughly 1.5 billion of them annually. MacLaren had been charged with building the organization's far smaller U.S. business, with an emphasis on establishing new , handmade cigars. In the past three years, Villiger has released handmade cigars under such names as Villiger Colorado and Villiger Talanga, including more than one that has rated 90 points or higher in Cigar Aficionado. The Villiger Colorado Corona scored 91 points in the December issue of the magazine.
While those handmade smokes were created under the name Villiger, which dates back to 1888, the newest cigars featured other names. The brands Cuéllar, Cabereté and Trill make no mention of the word Villiger.
"HQ made the change due to a difference of opinion in strategy," Patrick FitzGerald, chief financial officer of Villiger Cigars North America told Cigar Aficionado. "The board felt that despite the growth in the hand-rolled segment as well as machine-made cigars, the focus needed to be more in line with the portfolio Villiger offers on a global basis. ... The market will see more visibility of the Villiger brand."
Despite the changing strategy, FitzGerald said the new cigars wouldn't go away. "Going forward in the U.S., the sales focus will be more aligned to Villiger brands (such as the recently introduced Villiger Tobajara). That said, the success of our new brands, Cuellar, Caberete and Trill are noted and we are 100 percent committed to these lines. We will continue to grow these products, develop the brands and continue our relationship with Tabacelera Palma. As I mentioned, Villiger Söhne AG is 100 percent committed to the U.S. market."
In a statement, Villiger credited MacLaren with "extraordinary growth to the company's , hand-rolled division."
MacLaren had praise for Villiger. "It has been an extraordinary honor to serve as president of Villiger Cigars North America over the last three years," said MacLaren. "I am very proud that I was able to take the U.S. operation, which was only noted for machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, to the next level of quality hand-rolled cigars. I want to thank Mr. Villiger for this great opportunity and wish the entire Villiger family nothing but great success in the future."
In the statement, Villiger said FitzGerald will control operations in the U.S. office, and vice president Shawna Williams will be in charge of sales and marketing.
