According to Peter Zimmermann, owner of Den anspråkslösa cigarraffären in Malmö, Gothenburg has been at the forefront of the Swedish tobacco market for a long time, but he also says things are changing. “It’s probably because Gothenburg is a harbor town,” he says. “When the monopoly was lifted in 1961, Habanos chose to establish itself here. Nowadays, both Merja Jusélius at Cigarrummet in Stockholm and I are importing cigars as well.”
Photo: Simon Lundh
Zimmermann opened up his shop in 2007 and has since done very well. “I think people care more about the good things in life today. I’ve always liked beer, but in the 80’s and 90’s you had nothing to choose from. Now there are at least 50 Swedish micro breweries.”
Merja Jusélius, who has been in the business for 25 years, has a somewhat different view on the Gothenburg dominance. “To me, both Stockholm and Gothenburg have been cigar metropolises in Sweden, while Malmö has been catching up, even more so in recent years.”
She does agree, however, that there has been a general upswing. “When I started, there was only one other tobacco shop in Stockholm, and now there are a lot more.”
Malmö & Stockholm Tobacco Shops
Den anspråkslösa cigarraffären
Carl Herslowsgatan 11b
211 47 Malmö
T +46 (0)40 494637
www.gotteftermaten.comBrobergs
Triangeln, Södra Förstadsgatan 41
211 43 Malmö
T +46 (0)40 6430131
www.brobergs.seCigarrummet
Stureplan 2
114 35 Stockholm
T +46 (0)8 6116270
www.cigarrummet.comBrobergs
Sturegallerian 39
114 46 Stockholm
T +46 (0)8 6116900
www.brobergs.seRoberts Tobak
Rörstrandsgatan 18
113 40 Stockholm
T +46 (0)8 316830
[email protected]NK Press & Tobak
Hamngatan 18-20
111 47 Stockholm
T +46 (0)8 146890
This article was published in the Cigar Journal Spring Edition 2014. Read more
