Cigars - the once-a-year treat for many - so stock up!

A cigar is one of those things that many people treat themselves to only once a year, so make sure you are stocked up.

Occasional smokers and regular smokers trading up to a seasonal cheroot will both be looking for the reassurance of a well-known name. If you're only having the one, it's got to be a good one.

And, unless they're just back from a fact-finding tour in Cuba, they will also welcome your expert advice.

"Christmas is a prime time for selling cigars and licensees should ensure they stock up behind the bar with the best-sellers and heavily supported brands to meet demand," advised Lisa Davies-Evans, trade marketing controller at Imperial Tobacco which produces the best-selling brand in pubs, Castella, which enjoys a market share of 54 per cent.

"Smokers like to treat themselves with cigars and they are also bought as Christmas presents so they offer bars and pubs an excellent opportunity for extra tobacco sales, with a profit margin of up to 18 per cent - that's around 40 pence in the till with every pack sold."

In the on-trade, cigars generated £160.6m in consumer sales last year.

"The licensed trade is the place where customers are most likely to try out new brands", said Lisa.

Led by Café Créme, the miniature cigar sector is driving growth and is already worth over £102m annually accounting for a third of total cigar sales. Imperial estimates that by 2003 the miniatures will account for at least 45 per cent of the cigar market as more and more smokers switch between cigarettes and miniature cigars.

Its Small Classic Filter cigars are specifically designed to attract cigarette smokers who also enjoy smoking cigars.

Publicans should take advantage of the seasonal trend in the run-up to Christmas by stocking individual cigars, too, available in drums.

Imperial Tobacco offers the following general advice to pubs and bars which want to maximise cigar sales over Christmas:

• only stock the best-sellers. Out of the 300 brands in the UK, the top 10 make up 91 per cent of total sales
• display best-selling cigars prominently behind the bar in packs and drums. Good visibility will encourage impulse buying
• licensees should make the most of the seasonality of cigars and be prepared to give advice and help to customers who may not be regular cigar buyers to choose the right brand for themselves or as a gift to fellow diners and drinkers
• place the cigar range together so customers who want to upgrade from their usual cigar can have a clear picture of the alternatives available
• display appropriate point-of-sale material to create maximum impact.

As for other tobacco products, the word is to offer a range of price bands - and remember that brand strengths vary around the country.

Ultra low-priced cigarettes are growing as smokers move away from paying high prices driven by duty increases and there is little sign this trend will slacken.

The roll-your-own tobacco market has also remained robust as an increasing number of smokers turn to it as an economy measure.