Thursday, June 9, 2005

JT markets more brand cigarettes

by Brian Turner

In the largest launch in its history, Japan Tobacco introduced 13 new brands, including peach, strawberry, and lemon-grass flavored cigarettes on Thursday, bringing to 31 the number of new brands the company has introduced in the past two years.

Japan is the third largest tobacco market in the world, trailing only China and the United States.

The new launch comes at a time when the company is trying to raise its market share, which has declined from 73 percent in April to about 66 percent currently.

Much of the loss in JT’s market share came after its licensing agreement with Philip Morris International expired in April, ending JT’s exclusive right to make and sell Philip Morris’s Marlboro brand in Japan.

One analyst said that launching a number of brands at one time in this manner is a good, cost-effective strategy for increasing its market share.

The number of smokers in Japan, however, is going down at a steady pace due to health concerns and anti-smoking regulations, complicating the effort to sell more product.

 

 

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