“ Edward Sahakian has been a constant presence
in my life for as long as I can remember.
Jemma Freeman congratulates Edward on
his Retailer of the Year award at the 2014
Spectator Cigar Awards.
He and his wife Greta were frequent visitors
at our home and they were held in the highest
esteem by my father who first met Edward when
he came to England and decided to open a cigar
shop. After my father died, Edward became my
mentor and friend. He has always looked after
me and guided and helped me. His kindness
and generosity seem to be limitless and he has
a wicked sense of humour. We have travelled
numerous times to Cuba together and have
spent many hours enjoying many wonderful
cigars. I have learnt more from him than almost
anyone else in this business. Edward is an
extraordinary man and my respect for him is
immeasurable.”
Jemma Freeman
Managing Director of Hunters & Frankau
“ I can remember St James’s Street without Davidoff
of London on the corner of Jermyn Street. The area
was already a hub for Havana cigars with Robert
Lewis (now James J. Fox) if you turned one way
and Alfred Dunhill if you turned the other. That
in itself made the opening of a new cigar shop a
challenging prospect, but when you added the
recession of Maggie Thatcher’s early years, many
people thought Edward was unlikely to be there
long. After 35 years you can safely say the doubters
were wrong.
From the day that Edward opened his doors he
set a new standard for cigar stores in London.
Behind the massive plate glass windows an
elegant, thoroughly modern interior greeted his
customers, and his humidor room was larger and
more efficient than anything that Londoners were
used to. However the real secret of his success
lay with the people he hired to work in the shop.
Imbued with Edward’s own high standards of cigar
knowledge and politeness, they have charmed their
way through three and a half decades that have
seen the cigar trade change beyond recognition.
There can be no greater accolade than to know that
several members of his original staff remain with
him to this day. Congratulations Edward.”
Simon Chase
Cigar Consultant – Formerly Marketing Director at Hunters & Frankau
9
Simon Chase, Desmond Sautter and
Edward in Havana