C-store Update - competing for space, Marlboro SNUS, Camel Dissolvables, Grizzly 1900s, etc..



February 14, 2010 -

Iceland, Thailand, Ireland, states in Australia and Canadian provinces have banned the display of tobacco products. In the United Kingdom from October 2011, large shops can no longer display cigarette products, while the ban takes effect in smaller shops two years later.

As of January 1, 2010 the Australian State of New South Wales display ban went into effect. Here are before and after images..



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NOT in the USA.. As we know, places where tobacco is sold have become important environments for the tobacco industry to communicate with current, former and potential smokers through large tobacco product displays, countertop displays and signs advertising. Mike Szymanczyk CEO of Altria, Inc. states that Philip Morris owes their success to the ability to connect with adult tobacco consumers through the in-store experience and the development of one-to-one relationships using their database of 25 million adult cigarette smokers (Remarks, Investor Presentation, 3/11/2008).

C-store owners usually sign an agreement with the three major tobacco companies that identifies where their products will be placed/promoted in exchange for a variety of financial incentives. The Philip Morris USA (PM) Retail Leaders 2008 Agreement, involved the checkout counter and the wall behind the counter - the "power wall." The 2010 PM agreement will not be signed until March 2010 this year around the same time Marlboro SNUS will be introduced nationally (see below). PM will be abandoning their t-set display of products in favor of a horizontal approach. (Big 3 cigarette companies continue to compete for c-store space - the PM T-SET)

One particular c-store (that we know of) signs an annual agreement with each of the 3-major cigarette makers. The problem: Lorillard (maker of Newport) claims they sell more cigarettes then R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in the Raleigh Area so they should get position No 2. The c-store owner moved the Reynolds products and replaced them with Lorillard's products. When Reynolds found out they insisted that around the country their products outsell Lorillard's so they should be the No. 2 position or there will be no agreement. To date - this impasse has not been resolved.

Here's an image with the Lorillard's products in the No. 2 position. The Reynolds products have been moved to the 3-position -- to the extreme right of the wall display.



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Marlboro SNUS going national as of March 11, 2010..




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Columbus, Ohio area - a market test site for Camel Dissolvables. In the last c-store update we reported some tobacco control people seemed to think Camel is pulling some Orbs. Now we know that Camel Orbs has be changed and the packaging for Camel Sticks has been changed.



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American Snuff Grizzly 1900s - a new product - to better compete with Copenhagen and Skoal.




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Marlboro name changes: The new tobacco law included a requirement that all brands of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco rename terms such as "light," "ultra-light" and Mild for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco by June 22, 2010.



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Lorllard has stopped selling Triumph SNUS..








Previous C-store update..

More to relate - no time.. will try to get next c-store update out within 2-weeks..

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