About a decade ago, the world’s largest online cigar retailer, Cigars International, opened its first superstore. And the company hasn’t stopped since. According to their website, there are now 15 physical shops, of which 14 are superstores.

Another large online retailer, JR Cigars, also has a 28.000 square foot location superstore in North Carolina while Cigar Page just announced the opening of the largest cigar shop in the world. That store will be five minutes away from one of Cigars International’s superstores in Bethlehem PA. Cigar Page is founded and owned by Keith Meier, who also founded but later sold Cigars International.

There is also a Don Kiki Superstore in Florida, owned by Karen Berger who runs her own cigar brand and a factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Neptune Cigars has a superstore and there are probably more that I don’t know.

But the explosion of super stores in the last decade makes me wonder:

Do we really need cigar superstores?

For clarity, let me first confess that I have not been to one of these superstores. It’s been a decade since I set foot on US soil and the biggest stores I have visited were Cuban Crafters and the Corona Cigars locations in Orlando Downtown and West Sand Lake.

Now, I draw this from memory, and the situation may have changed in the last decade, but from what I remember, the Cuban Crafters location was huge. But a lot of the space was occupied by a wine bar, a barber, merchandise and the humidor was big but not overly impressive. I had seen bigger and better stocked humidors in other locations.

The Corona Cigars downtown location was huge with a huge selection and a full bar. Yet the selection at the West Sand Lake Road was larger, even though the retail space is smaller. But already, the sheer size of the selection made me, an experienced smoker, choke. Choice overload, too many brands, too many vitolas. And I can imagine that being worse in an even bigger shop.

The psychological effect

When consumers face too many options within a product category, they often experience choice overload—a psychological state marked by stress, indecision, and reduced satisfaction. While variety can initially seem appealing, an excess of choices can overwhelm the decision-making process, making it harder to evaluate options rationally. This can lead to decision fatigue, regret after purchase, or even avoidance of the decision altogether. Paradoxically, having more options can make people less happy with their final choice, as they worry about missed alternatives or whether they chose “the best” one.

For example, I like to cook and in my hometown there’s a shop with an enormous selection of herbs and spices. Row after row after row of dried herbs and spices. From all over the world and in all different sizes of packaging. Whether you’re looking for a small jar for incidental home use, or bulk packaging for professional kitchens and all sizes in between. As an avid home chef, I thought I stepped into heaven when I first visited the store. And I overloaded on spices and herbs. The second time I got annoyed because in such an overwhelming sea of products it’s hard to find what I’m looking for and now I avoid the shop until I have several items on my shopping list. And I think going to a cigar superstore will have the same effect.

Mega lounges

A similar argument can be made for huge, 200+ seats, lounges. Sure, you don’t want to be cramped when you’re enjoying a cigar and sitting like a sardine in a can isn’t comfortable, but being a single sardine in the ocean is also not a comfortable feeling. You’d want some space in a lounge, but it shouldn’t be too big that you can’t connect with fellow afficionados.

And if I read about the sheer sizes of these lounges, I feel that they are only suitable for people who either come with some friends, or for people who bring their laptop and use the lounge as an adult version of MacDonalds or Starbucks to do some work while using the free Wi-Fi. I would not go there, buy a cigar and sit there all by myself with hardly any opportunity to be able to connect with another person in such a large space.

All in all, I think that that although there’s clearly a market for these superstores, the comfort of a cozy sized lounge and a humidor with a nicely curated but not overly large selection of cigars fits me much more. Bigger isn’t always better, that goes for both large cigars and superstores.