Lorillard - Triumph SNUS is dead, more conventional moist snuff product coming..

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February 8, 2010 Swedish Match was making a SNUS product called Triumph for Lorillard. This joint venture with Swedish Match was mutually agreed to be terminated at the end of 2009 in the Snus business. Back in March 2008, when Triumph was being test marketed in Columbus, OH we wondered  if it had a chance where others have failed like UST Inc. (now owned by Altria) Revel or Altria's Taboka.

At the 2009 earnings call it was announced that Lorillard will be entering into the moist smokeless tobacco (MST) market in the not-too-distant future. CEO Orlowsky stated he was not going to make any specific comments about our plans with respect to the marketing of moist smokeless tobacco products at this point. Analysts seem to think the new MST product would compete in the price/value category possibly further eroding American Snuff's Grizzly's market share.

It is interesting to note Triumph was equipped with combi-lid to store used pouches (sachets). If you thought cigarette butt litter was bad discarded snus pouches are 100 percent worse.

Information below
from news brief (11/22/2009); Lorillard - president and CEO Orlowsky to be replaced after December 31, 2010. (Similar remarks regarding snus are made Marty Orlowsky, Chairman, President, CEO and David Taylor, CFO in Lorillard's Inc. Q4 Earnings Call Transcript.)

SNUS:
Lorillard Tobacco Q1 2009 Conference Call - Marty Orlowsky (Chairman, President and CEO of Lorillard) was asked to comment on their smokeless program.

Orlowsky: Well, I think we're experiencing a similar pattern as some of our competition as marketing or test marketing [SNUS] products. It's a relatively low level of interest that's being expressed by the consumers and we're just monitoring the situation as we move forward. I really don't have anything very specific to report. There have been no major changes to the consumer perceptions of that product.

(Lorillard Inc. Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript)

Swedish Match makes a SNUS product called Triumph for Lorillard. The Lorillard salesman tells us that Triumph SNUS sales have gone poorly and it doesn't cost Lorillard anything to sell this pouch tobacco. Triumph SNUS..

In 1977 Lorillard sold the rights for international sales of its cigarette brands to British American Tobacco (BAT).

Reference: Lorillard, Inc. Q4 2009 Earnings Call Transcript, 2/8/2010.