The History of Davidoff Part 1

For more than half a century, the name Davidoff has become synonymous with luxury, class and quality. They have positioned themselves as one of the premier luxury goods companies in the world, with their products ranging from tobacco to clothing and cologne. The famed Davidoff White label has long been seen as the quintessential premium cigar, due to the companies long standing commitment to elegance and craftsmanship. Davidoff success and fortune are the end result of a long and rich history, which began at the turn of the century. It was born in modern day Ukraine, which at that point was part of the now defunct Russian Empire. From this small rural area, this company grew and established itself as a major force in the luxury market.

Founder Zino Davidoff was born in 1906 to a family of tobacco merchants in the city of Kiev. Although his family was of Russian Jewish ancestry, their occupation made them knowledgeable in the ever-growing cigar and cigarette industry. The family moved to Geneva when he was only 5 years old, a city which would go on to influence the young man and become the base for his operations in the future. Zino, wishing to further his families’ fortunes and his own knowledge of the tobacco industry, travelled around South America to learn of its illustrious tobacco market. He spent some time in Argentina and Brazil before finally settling on Cuba, where he became well acquainted with the countries major export, cigar tobacco.

His family had already established a well-known tobacco shop in Switzerland during this time. After leaving Cuba, Zino returned to Geneva, but was now an idealistic young professional who began to envision methods to tae this small shop and to expand it, carving his families name in to the annuls of tobacco history. By the early 1930s, Zino had gained control of the shop and began to instill some of the concepts and practices he had gained on his travels, setting the stage for the Davidoff Brand to become a world wide phenomenon.