Eddie Sahakian

Spear’s Review

Eddie Sahakian believes smoking cigars is a happy self-indulgence. ‘The first thing I ascertain is when, where and with whom the customer wishes to enjoy the cigar,’ he told an industry commentator. ‘What we are selling is not tobacco – we are selling exquisite pleasure.’

Sahakian’s clients comprise a broad spectrum of cigar-lovers, from London cabbies to highbrow aficionados, a few MPs and even the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And behind the passion for smoke is an unusual back story, as Sahakian’s father, Edward Senior, founded Davidoff of London in 1980 after a career change brought about by the Iranian Revolution. Business is booming in its St James’s Street shop.