Laudisi Enterprises
Laudisi Enterprises Headquarters Address
550 Hwy 9 E, Longs, SC, 29568 (view in map)
Laudisi Enterprises Photos
About Laudisi Enterprises
In 1999, Sykes Wilford found himself working part time at a tobacconist in Nashville, Tennessee, while he was in college. He had been smoking a pipe for a few months and it seemed like it'd be a fun place to work. Moreover, it was close to campus, which was a really important feature given he didn't have a car. The store, like most tobacconists, mostly sold cigars, but he fell in love with the pipes and the pipe tobacco. Cigars were a lot of fun too, but pipes were permanent things of beauty and the sheer variety of pipe tobacco kept him coming back.
What really struck him, though, is that in the late 1990s, these guys had an electronic cash register and did inventory with pen and paper. After a particularly unpleasant four-hour session adding up handwritten columns of numbers on green ledger paper—thirteenth-century Venice style—it became apparent that the pipe world needed technology. And it needed it badly.
This was the late 1990s. Internet startups were the cool thing to do. Undeterred by his lack of technology or business background, Sykes founded Laudisi Enterprises in June, 2000 and Smokingpipes.com sold its first pipe in November, 2000.
The first couple of years were slow-going. Sykes was increasingly realizing that he really didn't know much of anything about business and his intimate knowledge of medieval European history and 20th century Southern lit just wasn't helping much. But, by the end of 2002, he'd graduated and business was starting to look promising. Smokingpipes.com did $15,000 in revenue in November, 2002. At the time, that seemed like a lot. As of this writing, $15,000 is a very weak Tuesday.
We moved the business in 2003 to a mouse-infested 1,200 sq ft workshop with minimal heating in Longs, SC. We obviously still didn't really know what we were doing, but it was cheap and we needed some space, so we were there for two years. We grew extremely rapidly, growing more than six-fold in two years and almost ten-fold in the three years between 2002 and 2005.
In January 2005, we moved into the 5,000 sq ft brick building at the corner of Hwy 90 and Sea Mountain that currently houses Low Country Pipe & Cigar on the ground floor, the company's workshop on the third floor and some of our offices in between.
Growth continued at a good clip, ranging between 12.5% and 25% per annum from 2006 to 2012. We steadily went from being a high end boutique emphasizing high grade Japanese and Danish pipes to being the dominant player in the premium pipe and pipe tobacco segment in the United States. We grew and evolved during this period, expanding into nearby buildings and growing the team from thirteen to more than forty.
In 2012, we were approached by Savinelli, perhaps the largest manufacturer of premium pipes in the world, to take over as their US distributor. We set up Laudisi Distribution Group and began distributing Savinelli pipes and other products in October of that year.
In 2014 Laudisi Enterprises merged with Cornell & Diehl, a Morganton, NC based manufacturer of boutique, hand-blended pipe tobacco. C&D in its present incarnation was founded in 1990, however, the company's roots and heritage began in the 1880's in New York as The Atlas
Blending Co. From the very beginning, the company flew somewhat in the face of convention, just like Laudisi. And so naturally it’s been a successful fit.
And so in September of 2014, as we once again outgrew our digs on account of all the new jobs we’ve added to Laudisi so that we could continue to kick butt and take names, and because we needed to move C&D down from Morganton so that we could all be in the same work area, we moved the whole company to a giant 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Longs, SC, about six miles away from our old home. But the store has stayed put, thankfully.
It's an exciting time to be here. We're growing extremely rapidly right now. Between Smokingpipes.com's and Low Country Pipe & Cigar's organic growth and the addition of LDG and C&D, we’re facing continuous growth annually. It's a dynamic, constantly evolving atmosphere.
Our ValuesWhat really struck him, though, is that in the late 1990s, these guys had an electronic cash register and did inventory with pen and paper. After a particularly unpleasant four-hour session adding up handwritten columns of numbers on green ledger paper—thirteenth-century Venice style—it became apparent that the pipe world needed technology. And it needed it badly.
This was the late 1990s. Internet startups were the cool thing to do. Undeterred by his lack of technology or business background, Sykes founded Laudisi Enterprises in June, 2000 and Smokingpipes.com sold its first pipe in November, 2000.
The first couple of years were slow-going. Sykes was increasingly realizing that he really didn't know much of anything about business and his intimate knowledge of medieval European history and 20th century Southern lit just wasn't helping much. But, by the end of 2002, he'd graduated and business was starting to look promising. Smokingpipes.com did $15,000 in revenue in November, 2002. At the time, that seemed like a lot. As of this writing, $15,000 is a very weak Tuesday.
We moved the business in 2003 to a mouse-infested 1,200 sq ft workshop with minimal heating in Longs, SC. We obviously still didn't really know what we were doing, but it was cheap and we needed some space, so we were there for two years. We grew extremely rapidly, growing more than six-fold in two years and almost ten-fold in the three years between 2002 and 2005.
In January 2005, we moved into the 5,000 sq ft brick building at the corner of Hwy 90 and Sea Mountain that currently houses Low Country Pipe & Cigar on the ground floor, the company's workshop on the third floor and some of our offices in between.
Growth continued at a good clip, ranging between 12.5% and 25% per annum from 2006 to 2012. We steadily went from being a high end boutique emphasizing high grade Japanese and Danish pipes to being the dominant player in the premium pipe and pipe tobacco segment in the United States. We grew and evolved during this period, expanding into nearby buildings and growing the team from thirteen to more than forty.
In 2012, we were approached by Savinelli, perhaps the largest manufacturer of premium pipes in the world, to take over as their US distributor. We set up Laudisi Distribution Group and began distributing Savinelli pipes and other products in October of that year.
In 2014 Laudisi Enterprises merged with Cornell & Diehl, a Morganton, NC based manufacturer of boutique, hand-blended pipe tobacco. C&D in its present incarnation was founded in 1990, however, the company's roots and heritage began in the 1880's in New York as The Atlas
Blending Co. From the very beginning, the company flew somewhat in the face of convention, just like Laudisi. And so naturally it’s been a successful fit.
And so in September of 2014, as we once again outgrew our digs on account of all the new jobs we’ve added to Laudisi so that we could continue to kick butt and take names, and because we needed to move C&D down from Morganton so that we could all be in the same work area, we moved the whole company to a giant 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Longs, SC, about six miles away from our old home. But the store has stayed put, thankfully.
It's an exciting time to be here. We're growing extremely rapidly right now. Between Smokingpipes.com's and Low Country Pipe & Cigar's organic growth and the addition of LDG and C&D, we’re facing continuous growth annually. It's a dynamic, constantly evolving atmosphere.
Passion
Passion is the foundation of our core values here at Laudisi Enterprises. To be passionate is to possess a contagious enthusiasm that’s evident not only in our quality of work, but in our desire to perform such duties on a daily basis. Simply put, a passionate teammate is one who not only desires, but simply feels the need to produce results that scream, ‘We love what we do.’ It’s what draws customers and employees to us, and then retains them.
Intrepidity
Driven by that same passion and enthusiasm, an intrepid Laudisi employee is one who’s not only fearless and adventurous, but one who’s also willing to take necessary risks in realizing our ideals. We take comfort in the unknown and relish being a pioneer in our respective fields. It is the quality that both sets Laudisi apart within the industry and drives us to take chances to achieve their goals.
Creativity
We use imagination as an outlet for our passion and intrepidity. As creative people, we take a novel approach to a problem, task, or a project and defying conventions, yielding significant and interesting work. We collaborate to redefine expectations through innovation. We invent and reinvent who we are and who we can be.
Idealism
To be idealistic is to pursue our vision of perfection, to dream large, and to chase those dreams until they are reality. It’s holding fast to our uncompromising morals, beliefs, values, or standards, as well as putting forth our best efforts in our endeavors, simply because passion and creativity won’t allow anything less. It offers a direction for our creativity, intrepidity, and passion —upholding those idealized standards along the way.
Wisdom
To be wise is to demonstrate a prudent application of experience and critical thinking —tempering passion, intrepidity, creativity, and idealism. It’s the trait that ensures that we pursue the best interests of the customer, Laudisi, and each other.
Our BenefitsPassion is the foundation of our core values here at Laudisi Enterprises. To be passionate is to possess a contagious enthusiasm that’s evident not only in our quality of work, but in our desire to perform such duties on a daily basis. Simply put, a passionate teammate is one who not only desires, but simply feels the need to produce results that scream, ‘We love what we do.’ It’s what draws customers and employees to us, and then retains them.
Intrepidity
Driven by that same passion and enthusiasm, an intrepid Laudisi employee is one who’s not only fearless and adventurous, but one who’s also willing to take necessary risks in realizing our ideals. We take comfort in the unknown and relish being a pioneer in our respective fields. It is the quality that both sets Laudisi apart within the industry and drives us to take chances to achieve their goals.
Creativity
We use imagination as an outlet for our passion and intrepidity. As creative people, we take a novel approach to a problem, task, or a project and defying conventions, yielding significant and interesting work. We collaborate to redefine expectations through innovation. We invent and reinvent who we are and who we can be.
Idealism
To be idealistic is to pursue our vision of perfection, to dream large, and to chase those dreams until they are reality. It’s holding fast to our uncompromising morals, beliefs, values, or standards, as well as putting forth our best efforts in our endeavors, simply because passion and creativity won’t allow anything less. It offers a direction for our creativity, intrepidity, and passion —upholding those idealized standards along the way.
Wisdom
To be wise is to demonstrate a prudent application of experience and critical thinking —tempering passion, intrepidity, creativity, and idealism. It’s the trait that ensures that we pursue the best interests of the customer, Laudisi, and each other.
Our benefits package is just one of the things that sets us apart. The health of our people and their families is important to us. That's why we pay 65-75% of an employee's premium, depending on the plan, and 20% of a dependent's premium. We offer a 401(k) and we'll match up to 4%. We offer short-term disability, dental & vision insurance packages, a life insurance policy up to $20,000–30,000 policy (depending on other elected benefits), and vacation and holiday pay.
What We Do: A Passion for PipesStarting with Shane and Sykes, who select and receive the pipes, often directly from their makers, we follows one pipe's journey through merchandising and data entry, to photography and photo editing, to copy-writing, onto an update, through customer service, pulled and packaged for shipping, and into your hands. Even better, you get a glimpse at the fantastic people at Laudisi who make this process happen hundreds of times each week.
What We Do: Artisinal Pipe TobaccoMeet the Cornell and Diehl team as we take you through the meticulous and time-consuming process of making Union Square. We'll show you each step, from blending to pressing to slicing into delicate flakes, in making this popular blend—all by hand.
Number of Employees in Laudisi Enterprises
51 to 200
Laudisi Enterprises Revenue
$1M to $5M (USD)
Industry