Beer sales have held relatively steady despite the economic maelstrom of the past several months, and one reason is that c-stores are asking for help. Operators are seeking and getting assistance of various sorts from their suppliers in an effort to make up for lost dollars. Help is coming in the form of promotional programs…
Cigarettes
TOP PERFORMERS Philip Morris USA R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Lorillard Tobacco Co. HONORABLE MENTIONS Commonwealth Brands Inc. Liggett Vector Since the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), tobacco taxes and sales from tax-free sources continue to plague the convenience store industry. Cigarettes continue to be the top in-store category based on sales dollars. On a monthly…
Turbulent Times for Tobacco
Fasten your seat belts because 2009 will likely be one of the most turbulent years for the tobacco industry in recent memory. The outcome of the federal elections has further cemented Democratic control in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House and ushered in a new liberal administration with President-elect Obama waiting to be…
Pilot Testing Electronic Smokeless Products
In an effort to boost sales in the smokeless category, Pilot convenience stores in the Knoxville, Tenn., market are testing the Vegas E-cigar, a product manufactured by Minneapolis-based Ruyan America Inc. that looks and feels like a premium cigar, but uses a microchip and nicotine-infused liquid to produce a vapor that provides its user with…
BIC sparks Gate’s sales
BIC sparks Gate’s sales Bob Westendick’s business is tobacco and cigarettes, and he likes anything that pushes that category. Which is why he is so enamored with BIC. As the merchandise assistant for Gate Petroleum (Jacksonville, FL), Westendick keeps tabs on the profitability of the chain’s product mix for its 150 stores. Since signing an…
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. (USSTC) will launch new and improved Skoal Bandits moist smokeless tobacco (MST) pouches. Replacing the existing Bandits line, the new Skoal Bandits will come in mint and wintergreen flavors and debut at retail in August. Every can of new and improved Skoal Bandits will contain 20 compact…
Wawa’s Cigar Sales Flourish With Middleton Partnership
“John Middleton has some very strong sellers in our stores, but the new merchandiser they developed with us has been an overall improvement to the [cigar] category.” John Middleton Inc. has been operating in the Philadelphia area since 1856, beginning with a retail tobacco shop. More than a hundred years later, John Middleton divested its…
Light Up The Night
Happy Hour Fluid Motion lighters are the newest design addition to Calico Brands’ very successful 3D lighter line. The Happy Hour 3D lighters feature popular drinks that appear to be the real thing as the liquid butane of the lighter shows through each glass. Calico Brands’ marketing department put in hours of research for field…
Rolling Along
Introducing the newest addition to The World’s Most Wanted Blunts— Kingpin’s VSOP Cognac from HBI. In the tradition of only the finest liquors, Kingpins have added VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) Cognac flavor to the popular line of blunt wrappers. Kingpins are available in eight flavors: Big Apple, Paradise Peach, Chocolate Mint, Cherry BonBon, Maple…
Give It to Them Raw
RAW Natural Unbleached Rolling Papers are the first of their kind: an unbleached, less processed paper that maintains its original natural brown hue. The paper is extremely thin, almost translucent and uses a sweet sugar-based gum. This product was created in the spirit of Additive Free Cigarettes and the overall market trend towards natural, less…