Colibri closing

gmill880

Not sure if this was already posted but it seems Colibri Group ,citing declining sales, has closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. Seems there was some discussion on here about the quality , or lack thereof about their lighters.

Garen B

Not to sound bitter but I'm glad they are closing, one of their lighters felt apart on me and was probably planning on exploding on me if I kept using it. Any other companies going to buy them up?

Jetmech_63

Hmm, I've had one of their lighters for about 3 years and the valve on the fill stem, the seal went out and wont seal, leaked extremely bad. When it worked it was a great lighter. Wonder if their stuff is going to go on clearance. Currently i'm using an el cheapo torch and honestly....this thing works great! I used it on the ship last week in decent winds, worked like a charm. Makes me wonder why i dished out the money for one in the first place.

gmill880

Garen B:

Not to sound bitter but I'm glad they are closing, one of their lighters felt apart on me and was probably planning on exploding on me if I kept using it. Any other companies going to buy them up?

Anyones guess now. The company press release stated " economic conditions and credit market turmoil" as the reason. BUT , their major shareholder was Founders Equity SBIC , a private equity firm , they petitioned a Providence RI court to force The Colibri Group into receivership ( a form of bankruptcy -a receiver is appointed to recoup as much of the companys debt as possible).

madurofan

gmill880:

Garen B:

Not to sound bitter but I'm glad they are closing, one of their lighters felt apart on me and was probably planning on exploding on me if I kept using it. Any other companies going to buy them up?

Anyones guess now. The company press release stated " economic conditions and credit market turmoil" as the reason. BUT , their major shareholder was Founders Equity SBIC , a private equity firm , they petitioned a Providence RI court to force The Colibri Group into receivership ( a form of bankruptcy -a receiver is appointed to recoup as much of the companys debt as possible).

When Colibri was sold by the family that owned it to the investment group that now owns it, the quality of their product took a big hit. I understand it has gotten better over the years and that this year they anounced a lifetime warranty(similar to Xikars) for all their lighters. Their reputation had just been ruined so much and with companies like Xikar, lotus, etc, now dominating the market their share in the premium cigar accessories area was taking a big hit. They were relying on their sales of lower end stuff and it just didn't work out, obviously.

There has been some talk of the family that used to own Colibri buying the rights to the name back. We'll see what happens I guess.

rwheelwright

THat sucks for me. I bought a bunch of their lighters that had the lifetime warranty and I was given one. The ones that I bought work great but the dual flame that was given to me doesn't work very well. When it does, it is great. I was gonna send it back to get it fixed. SUCKS MAN! I hope someone buys them and honors their warranty.

JKTex

rwheelwright:

THat sucks for me. I bought a bunch of their lighters that had the lifetime warranty and I was given one. The ones that I bought work great but the dual flame that was given to me doesn't work very well. When it does, it is great. I was gonna send it back to get it fixed. SUCKS MAN! I hope someone buys them and honors their warranty.

Still contact them.  Business's have obligations to warranty's and they should account for warranty support.  It may not be quick, or good, but it is what it is.