Retailers may face difficult choice: smoking or lottery sales. A provision in a 17-year-old law that protects the rights of the disabled could effectively ban smoking in virtually every convenience store in Texas, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram reported. An attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, argued before the Texas Lottery Commission to…
competitive assortment lower prices accelerate cigar growth
CSD Webcast reveals greater profit dollars can be made even with lower retail margins. New insights on the cigar category reveal that retailers who manage the cigar category more strategically benefit from accelerated growth and a larger share of the market. The data was shared in a Convenience Store Decisions Webcast, sponsored by John Middleton…
Bic’s Pat Cordle leads new NACS Supplier Board
New NACS Supplier Board Chairman Pat Cordle, vice president of sales and marketing for Bic Corp., leads the new slate of officers who will serve on the 2007-08 NACS Supplier Board that was announced today during the Supplier Board meeting at the NACS Show 2007 in Atlanta . In addition, Brad Heetland, director of east…
smoke screen
With an increase in smoking restrictions and the threat of increased taxes, retailers and analysts express serious concerns for cigarette profitability. Convenience stores, backin the good old days beforethey offered the types foodserviceand products thatcould rival other retail segments, wereknown mostly for three things: Cokes,smokes and gas. But despite the industry’sonce-strong foothold, cigarette salesare slumping.…
diversified tobacco offering
Specialty and imported tobacco brands offer retailers an opportunity to cultivate a promising profit center. Retailers looking to develop an effective strategy forboosting sales would be wise to examine specialty andimported tobacco brands. Specialty tobacco shops havealready come to realize that brands like Djarum are attractinga new base of consumers that expect quality and value.…
blockbuster deal as altria agrees to acquire john middleton
The $2.9-billion cash deal gives Philip Morris USA control of leading cigar company to complement its initiatives in the smokeless category. In a deal that could dramatically alter the way tobacco products are sold at retail, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, Altria Group Inc., reached a deal today to acquire of John Middleton…
krogers helps ban underage smoking
State Attorneys General across the country calls to enforce stronger restrictions. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff revealed that Kroger Co., the parent company of 48 stores in Utah, has agreed to enforce strict measures to keep tobacco from minors. “Utah and other states have been working since 2000 to keep cigarettes from kids. As more…
house fails to support schip
Cigarette smokers can breath a temporary sigh of relief. Uninsured children, not so much. In a valiant attempt, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to override President Bush’s veto of H.R. 976, a bill that would reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). Said bill would have provided $35 billion to fund…
president bush vetoes chipra
As expected, new tobacco tax shot down. After being approved by both the House and Senate, the bill calling for a federal excise tax of 61 cents per pack for cigarettes has been vetoed by President Bush. The tax, which would fund the $35 billion Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA), has been in…
senate supports schip
Bill being prepared for the President, who has promised to veto. In a vote of 67-29, the Senate passed reauthorization legislation for the $35 billion State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) after it was passed by the House two days earlier with a vote of 265-159. The legislation is now en route to the President’s…