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…
Altria Lands UST
On paper Altria Group’s estimated $11.7-billion deal to acquire UST Inc. is a deal for the ages that will meld its powerhouse Marlboro line with the immensely popular Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco brands. The combination of Altria, parent company to Philip Morris USA, and UST, creates the premiere tobacco company in the U.S. with…
Alon Emerges
Alon USA At a Glance: Alon USA is a Dallas-based independent refiner and marketer majority owned by Alon Israel Oil Co. Ltd. It was formed in 2000 when Alon Israel purchased the downstream operations of Atofina Petrochemical. Today, Alon owns and operates the Fina fuel brand and Southwest Convenience Stores LLC (SCS), the largest 7-Eleven…
Tobacco’s Cloudy Future
Selling tobacco products at retail continues to get harder—this time because of H.R. 1108, the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, which passed overwhelmingly in the House on July 30 and would, if it becomes law, be the first time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory authority over tobacco manufacturing and retailing.…
Philip Morris USA Pulls High-Tech Filter Cigarettes
Philip Morris USA, the nation’s No. 1 tobacco company, has ended test markets of Marlboro-branded cigarettes that use a high-tech filter. The operating company of Altria Group Inc. said it pulled the plug on Marlboro Ultra Smooth, which uses an activated carbon filter. The company had stopped making new shipments of Marlboro Ultra Smooth to…
How Rutter’s Stays on Top
There was a time not long ago in this industry when bigger was always thought to be better. Fortunately, the folks at Rutter’s Farm Stores knew better. With 52 stores in five Pennsylvania counties, Rutter’s focus has never been on reckless expansion simply for the sake of having a larger store count. Rather, its has…
A Tobacco-Free County: Could it Ever Happen?
I remember it clearly. It was an overcast day in June 2002 in Lancaster County, Pa., when I attended a meeting that has always left me with a lasting impression. As the tobacco buyer for a major oil company, I quietly sat (not something I’m known for) and I listened to the discussion that one…
Cigarettes: Taxation Taking a Toll
Cigarettes by far continue to be the top in-store category based on sales dollars. On a monthly basis, the industry per store average for 2007 was $39,127. However, its gross profit contribution slipped to 3.2% to $6,152 falling behind package beverages ($6,526.) The reason tobacco fell to No. 2 is simply taxation. Since 2002, 43…
Other Tobacco products: OTP On The Rise
A surefire marketing strategy: Develop a need where consumers don’t even know they have one. The flipside: Wait until a need becomes so apparent, so prevalent and so overwhelming that it can no longer be justifiably ignored as a legitimate need. A pocketful of lawsuits and a barrage of tax increases in its portfolio, and…
N.C. Chief Wants Increase In Smoke Tax
In his final budget proposal as an officeholder, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley wants lawmakers to raise the state tax on cigarettes from 35 cents per pack to 55 cents, mainly to boost teacher salaries to the national average and repair the state’s mental health system, The Associated Press reported. Easley’s $21.5 billion spending plan…