ManufacturerNat Sherman
Nat Sherman
The History of Nat Serman
1930s
While the Great Depression gripped much of the world, Nat Sherman was beginning an adventure that continues today, nearly 70 years later. The 1930s marked a time of economic hardship for most Americans. But for those with a unique idea and the work ethic to move the idea into action, America was still a land of opportunity. At the start of the decade, Nat Sherman established the predecessor corporation of Nat Sherman, Inc. with Charles Baer, owner of the Epoca Cigar Factory. Their first venture is a retail tobacco store at 1400 Broadway in the heart of New York City's garment center. Nat bought out Baer shortly thereafter, and the company has been in family hands ever since. By the middle of the decade, Nat Sherman was a high profile hang out for the three primary consumers of premium cigars: fashion executives, show business types and gangster. For this last class of customer, the store was neutral territory where competing factions were actually friendly, using the cigar as a sort of social lubricant. As the 1930s came to an end, and war started in Europe, Nat Sherman introduced the first line of cigars bearing his own name. Produced in Tampa, which was then the cigar capital of the world, there is little known of these first "private label" cigars, other than the fact they were rolled with Cuban and American tobacco.
1940s
Wartime, and Nat Sherman did its part. Current President and CEO Joel Sherman was born at the start of the decade, and Nat Sherman's business followed the ebbs and flows of a country at war and at peace. Nat himself was a trained Civil Defense Warden, and ran drills in the 1400 Broadway store. A few years after the war, Nat Sherman entered the cigarette marketing business at the behest of a client who was not permitted to smoke cigars during his periodic flights to New York from Dallas. This client asked Nat to make him a cigarette that tasted like a cigar. With the help of Leighton Tobacco, Nat Sherman developed an oval cigarette made with Havana tobacco called Havana 149. Soon after the Havana 149, Nat Sherman introduced the Cigarettello, which was the first 100 mm cigarette using a brown maduro paper to be commercially offered.
1950s
A boom time for the United States and for Nat Sherman too. The company started expanding its lines of cigars and cigarettes. The now famous Fantasia cigarette featuring colored paper wrappers and filled with an American blend rather than Cuban tobacco was introduced during the 1950's. The Cigaretello started selling exceedingly well after several Hollywood actors started smoking them (Nat Sherman had changed the blend to a much more palatable mixture). On the retail side, cigars were still sought after by many, and the retail location continued to attract people from all facets of life looking for a great smoke. And, since the company was one of only three authorized distributors of Cuban cigars East of the Mississippi and the exclusive distributor of the Bolivar brand in the entire country, customers were guaranteed to find a cigar they liked. In fact, Nat Sherman's humidors still hold hundreds of Cuban cigars rolled during this decade, representing one of the largest caches of these exquisite specimens in the world.
1960s
Marked by assassinations, war, the hippie culture, the 1960s featured a series of personnel changes for Nat Sherman. Joel Sherman, who started stocking shelves and sweeping floors in 1956, joined his father full-time in the business in 1962 at the tender age of 21. In addition, all three third generation Shermans now active in the business, Bill, Michelle and Larry, were born during this decade. This provided the family and the company with some stability during an otherwise turbulent period In an effort to gain more control over the production of its cigarettes, Nat Sherman acquired the Alexiou cigarette factory in Wilkes-Barre, PA in the late 1960s, and moved it to Englewood, NJ in 1970. The acquisition was turning point for the company, which now produces all of its own cigarettes in-house.
1970s
The 1970s were years of change and innovation for the country and at Nat Sherman. The company started producing the MCD cigarette line, and began the catalog mail order division. In 1976, as the United States celebrated its Bicentennial, Nat Sherman moved to a new retail space at 711 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street. The following year, the company expanded it distribution business, marketing its cigarette lines to tobacco and candy wholesaler around North America. Change for Nat Sherman took the form of Joel Sherman leaving the company in 1978 to acquire and then run his own business - Concord Shear Corp. During his 13-year sabbatical from the business, Joel continued his deep interest in the tobacco industry while making Concord a very successful enterprise.
1980s
The Reagan Revolution of the 1980s set in motion some of the activities that would later lead to the revival of premium cigar smoking in the 1990s, including the increasing prominence of Wall Street in American life. At Nat Sherman, however, the 1980s were not the best of times. With Nat himself in failing health and no other Sherman family member involved in the day-to-day operations, the company veered from its tobacco origins. The retail location was selling more gifts than cigars, and the non-Nat Sherman cigars that were sold did not always meet the high standards that had been the Nat Sherman trademark for more than half a century. There were still many positives that came out of the 1980s. The Nat Sherman catalog was expanded both in size and in circulation, with up to six million smokers receiving certain issues during the decade. The company also expanded its international activities, venturing into the duty-free shop market as well as selling directly to retailers in Canada and in several European and Asian countries.
1990s
The last decade of the century was nothing but an astounding rebound for Nat Sherman, marked most notably by the return of strong Sherman family leadership to the company. First, in 1990, Joel Sherman returned to the company following the death of his father that same year. Then, Bill Sherman and his sister Michelle entered the business, and, halfway through the decade, their younger brother Larry joined as well. The new leadership set about reshaping the company into the classy, stylish operation it had been in its heyday. New blends for the cigar lines were developed. The Classic series of cigarettes was introduced and a new line of smoking accessories was launched. In addition, the complete Nat Sherman line of products was repackaged to reflect a new Sherman elegance. The harbinger of many of these events was the move of the retail store to its current site at 500 Fifth Avenue in 1991. Predicting the resurgence in premium cigar smoking, Joel Sherman created an ornate 7000 square foot smoker's paradise in the middle of midtown Manhattan. Complete with custom cabinetry, fluted columns and a one-of-a-kind humidor overlooking Fifth Avenue, the Nat Sherman retail store had become a Mecca for any cigar lover. From the personal service Nat Sherman's customers have expected for nearly 70 years to the convenience of shopping on the Internet, the company led the charge in the marketing of fine tobacco products and accessories into the new millennium.
2000s
More than 70 years and three generations bring us huffing and puffing into the new decade. We enter with a renewed commitment to excellence in both products and services. We have grown from a small retail store to a worldwide purveyor of luxury tobacco products and accessories. The new millennium will challenge us to expand into new products and new markets that will be marked by and with the same innovative ideas and industry leading concepts that we were known for in the 20th century. Still a family business we will try never to take ourselves to seriously so as to take the fun out of what we are doing and the joy of serving you, our customers
Up To Now
As we continue into and through the new millennium we find ourselves "on the move", both physically and intellectually.
Fifth Avenue at 42nd street continues to be the pulse of New York. Along 42nd street going towards Grand Central Station older skyscrapers are being torn down only to be replaced by bigger ones. Having been restored to its original grandeur, Grand Central Station has added spectacular shops and a European style food market throughout its vast labyrinth of passageways. New York has taken its blows and responded by coming back stronger than ever. It's a great place to be and we are proud to be a part of it.
Reality however says that cigarette manufacturing and customer support offices no longer fit in this city that never sleeps. So, when it became evident that we needed a larger factory to accommodate the growth of our all-natural cigarettes we made the leap and moved manufacturing to a state of the art facility in Greensboro, NC. We choose a 71/2-acre sight less than 300 yards from the airport, insuring that a Sherman could be there a good part of every week.
At the same time we moved the corporate offices to Fort Lee, NJ. Where we share a building with CNBC once again just a few yards from the George Washington Bridge and in sight of New York.
These moves have brought us into the new century better equipped to serve you while being able to create new and dynamic products such as "New York Cut" and "Metropolitan Maduro". Though major in scope the move has none the less been engineered to maintain close supervision and attention of our family. Quality and customer satisfaction are still important to us…our name is on every package.
Brands: Black & Gold, Cigarettellos, Classics, Fantasia Lights,
Havana Ovals, Hint of Clove, Hint of Mint, MCDs, Naturals, Phantom,
Slims, Turkish Ovals, and Virginia Circles.
Official site: http://www.natsherman.com/
Consumer Help: Write to to Nat Sherman, 500 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 1011
or call (800) 221-1690.
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