Oettinger Davidoff AG announced that ownership of the privately held Swiss company has been passed to the next generation of the Schneider family, according to Halfwheel. Lilian Schaffner-Schneider and Christine Ryhiner-Schneider, daughters of longtime owner Dr. Ernst Schneider, have transferred the company’s entire share capital to their direct descendants.
Chairman Domenico Scala said the handover is intended to preserve and build on the legacy of Dr. Ernst Schneider and Zino Davidoff while ensuring the 150-year-old company remains an independent, family-owned business. The Schneider family will retain two seats on the six-member board, and the company emphasized that there will be no changes to the current management team. Oettinger Davidoff owns the Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, and Zino cigar brands, operates factories in the Dominican Republic and Honduras, and runs a global retail network that includes 65 Davidoff of Geneva stores, more than 170 Wolsdorff Tobacco shops in Germany, and 25 A. Dürr & Co. locations in Switzerland.