Andorran Entrepreneur Jordi Pont Bros, Pioneer of Premium Cigar Imports, Dies at 88

The Andorran business community is mourning the death of Jordi Pont Bros, an 88-year-old entrepreneur who shaped the country's economic landscape over decades, particularly as a pioneer in premium cigar imports.

Pont Bros, widely known as "l'home dels havans i les Montblanc" for his expertise in Habanos cigars and Montblanc luxury items, passed away after a prolonged illness that worsened sharply in the past two weeks. He had long run Comercial Pont on Carrer Nou in Escaldes-Engordany, steps from Plaça Coprínceps. The shop served as an official Habanos outlet, contributing even to the brand's magazine, while offering a broad selection of high-end goods.

Born to a Republican councilor from Tàrrega's town hall, affiliated with Esquerra Republicana during the Spanish Civil War, his father fled into exile in France, joining a foreign workers' company before settling permanently in Andorra with his family in 1945. Pont Bros built on this foundation with various ventures, including a popular restaurant in Escaldes-Engordany that became a social hub. He later shifted to tobacco, becoming a trailblazer in importing havans, and for a decade was a partner in Vallsegur alongside businessman Enric Dolsa. Dolsa remembered him as "very calm, with great business sense and savvy," adding, "He helped me immensely—I can never thank him enough."

Even amid his declining health, Pont Bros faced distress when intruders broke into his Andorra la Vella home and ransacked it, though he and his wife were safely absent.

A funeral mass is scheduled for Friday at Sant Pere Màrtir church in Escaldes-Engordany, with sources noting the time as either 3:30pm or shortly after 4pm. A wake will precede it today from 5pm to 8pm, and Friday morning from 10am to 1pm, at the national funeral parlour's communal rooms opposite the hospital's emergency entrance.