A.J. Fernandez was born in March 1979, and began his cigar operations in the country of Nicaragua. Unlike many other cigar manufactures A.J. Fernandez, who is known as “Tabacalera Fernandez”, in his home country, Fernandez had humble beginnings. When Fernandez first began his company, he began with only six cigar rollers in a small, worn down facility in Esteli, Nicaragua. Here he began to make his name not by making his own cigar brand or cigar lines, but he helped other cigar manufacturers to produce some of their best selling cigar lines.
Fernandez helped the biggest name in all of cigars, Rocky Patel. This is unique to A.J. Fernandez because he was able to learn from some of the most successful cigar manufactures in the world, before he began his own cigar operations. This allowed Fernandez to take the time to develop a sound business plan before beginning his cigar brand, and it gave him the time to focus on the quality and marketing of his successful cigar lines.
After years of working in the cigar industry A.J. Fernandez began two incredibly popular cigar brands: Man O War, and Diesel. These brands helped Fernandez become a household name in the cigar industry, and have become some of the most successful brands in the cigar market. Fernandez’s many brands produce sales of almost 9 million cigars per year and sell to over 30 countries world wide.
Fernandez also revived a discontinued cigar brand in 2010, which was started by his grandfather in 1959 during the infamous Cuban Revolution in order to pay tribute to his grandfather.
By taking the time to learn from other cigar leaders, Fernandez was able to perfect an effective business strategy, which helped him launch his cigar empire. A.J. Fernandez also “bucked the trend” of many other cigar manufacturers by taking the time to perfect his craft, and develop target markets and good marketing strategies. Fernandez’s story is an inspirational story of how hard work and thinking outside the box can lead to great success.
