In 1875, Max Oettinger, a native of Bavaria, opened a tobacconist store at Eisengasse 9 in Basel, thus laying the foundations for today’s Oettinger Davidoff AG. The family-owned company, which now operates all over the world, celebrates its 140th anniversary in 2015. To mark the occasion it is, among other things, opening a new store in the place where it all began.
Basel, May 2015. In May 2015, Oettinger Davidoff AG is opening a “Davidoff” shop on the Grossbasel side of the Middle Rhine Bridge in Basel. This is just a few steps from Eisengasse 9, where Max Oettinger first started selling tobacco products from his “Havana House” in 1875. In doing so the immigrant from Bavaria laid the foundations for the success of today’s Oettinger Davidoff AG, which now, 140 years later, is making an important mark in its anniversary year by opening a new store with a luxurious cigar lounge at almost the same location.
As a further homage to the company’s founder, to its later “godfather” Dr. Ernst Schneider, as well as to the man who gave the company its name, Zino Davidoff, the original Davidoff Flagship Store in Geneva has been given a comprehensive renovation. The Davidoff family’s core business, which Zino sold in 1970, together with the “Davidoff” brand, to his business partner and friend Schneider, has a special significance for Oettinger Davidoff AG. The company wants to underline this by reopening the store in this anniversary year.
The anniversary year also brings further renovations and new openings, including in April 2015 on 6th Avenue in New York and in Amsterdam, and then later in the year at further prestigious locations in the USA, such as Brookfield Place in downtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile, with the inauguration of the International Art Residency in February 2015, the company is also using the anniversary to confirm its commitment to philanthropy. The official opening of the International Art Residency in the Dominican Republic completes the Davidoff Art Initiative launched in 2012. The Residency is the cornerstone of the Initiative and is intended to provide opportunities for creative exchange between the Caribbean/Dominican Republic and the rest of the world.
Oettinger Davidoff AG is, of course, also marking the anniversary in its core business of making and selling premium cigars. It is, for example, relaunching the “Winston Churchill”
brand. In contrast to the original launch seven years ago, the brand is being integrated as
a separate line within the Davidoff product range.
The company’s purchase of more than 150 hectares of land in Honduras and Nicaragua
strengthens its “crop-to-shop” vertical integration philosophy, which is a cornerstone of its
global corporate strategy.
With the Hourglass Lounge, the company launches the world’s first concierge service for
cigar aficionados, which additionally offers its members exclusive access to the finest
lounges and events, limited editions before anyone else and much more.
The stated aim of CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard is to ensure that Oettinger Davidoff AG
continues to grow in terms of core business turnover in its anniversary year. To achieve
this planned growth, the company is investing significant funds in the launch of new
brands and the relaunch of existing ones with high growth potential, as well as expanding
the current product portfolio. Oettinger Davidoff also aims to extend its global sales
network still further.
About Oettinger Davidoff AG
The CHF 1.2 billion Oettinger Davidoff AG, with over 3,500 employees around the world,
traces its roots back to 1875 and remains family owned to this day, with two distinctly
different businesses: one that is focused on FMCG distribution in the Swiss market and
one dedicated to the core business of producing, marketing and retailing premium
branded cigars, tobacco products and accessories. The premium branded cigar business
includes Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, Cusano, Griffin’s, Private Stock, Zino and Zino
Platinum. Oettinger Davidoff AG is anchored in a strong “crop-to-shop” philosophy,
having pursued a vertical integration from the tobacco fields in the Dominican Republic,
Honduras and Nicaragua to the worldwide network of almost 70 Davidoff Flagship Stores.