The Cigarette Store Group/Smoke Friendly, et.al.

The Cigarette Store Group, doing business as Smoker Friendly, was founded in 1991, growing to operate a mix of convenience stores, tobacco stores, cigar lounges, liquor stores and fueling locations under the names Smoker Friendly, Tobacco Depot, Smoke 'N Go, Havana Manor and Gasamat.

The chain did little in 2023 in terms of growth through acquisition, but in 2024, The Cigarette Store Group bought 54 stores from Richmond Master Distributors Inc., South Bend, Indiana, doing business as Low Bob's Discount Tobacco. The company will rebrand the stores to Smoker Friendly, with the acquisition bringing the chain's store count to 80 in the state, officials said. It was the company's seventh acquisition in the past four years.

Its last significant acquisition came in August 2022, when the retailer acquired 79 Tobacco Superstores, headquartered in Forrest City, Arkansas. Then in November of 2022, it acquired 30 tobacco stores across Indiana and Kentucky from Seymour, Indiana-based Collett Enterprises Inc.

Investment firm Main Street Capital Corp., Houston, made a $51.7 million investment in Smoker Friendly, taking a minority stake in the company in January 2021. The investor provided a revolving line of credit to support its working capital needs and assist with its acquisition growth strategy.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are as of Jan. 1, 2024.