Winston Gets Superslim
Japan Tobacco Intl. has decided to follow its competitors' example and create a superslim version of Winston, the best-selling cigarette in Russia, which has 8.7 percent of the market. Philip Morris has already begun making a slim L&M, the second best-selling brand with 5.2 percent of the market, and British American Tobacco has a slim Pall Mall. Those cigarettes' sales are climbing 30-40 percent per year, while the market as a whole is only growing by 1 percent. Winstons have been manufactured in Russia since 2000.
The JTI-Petro factory in St. Petersburg will start shipping Winston Super Slims to distributors in April, according to JTI public relations manager Anatoly Vereshchagin. He said the slims would cost several rubles more than regular Winstons, which currently cost 21 rubles per pack and would be available in light, superlight and light menthol varieties. Their launch will be accompanied by an advertising campaign. The new varieties are being launched worldwide, but will start in Russia and Ukraine. According to the ACNielsen Co., superslims now occupy 5 percent of the cigarette market.
The superslim L&M was announced by Philip Morris last week. That company unveiled the superslim Muratti Ambassador brand in Russia last April and it became a growth leader, occupying 0.3 percent of the Russian market and 0.6 percent of the Moscow market by the end of the year. British American Tobacco launched Pall Mall superslims in August 2005, and they have increased their share of the superslims market has increased from 3 percent to 6 percent this year.
Andrey Sterlin, general director of the Business Analysts Co., predicts that the share of slim and superslim cigarettes in the market will double by 2010, to make up 12 percent of volume and 20 percent of spending, on account of increasing numbers of women smokers. According to the WHO, 15.5 percent of Russian women smoke at present. In 2000, 12.6 percent smoked. In 1995, 9.7 percent smoked.
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All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 20, 2007
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