Tobacco Asia

Volume 18, Number 3

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28 tobaccoasia Due to new regulations and numerous anti- smoking social awareness campaigns introduced by both the public and private sectors as well as a rise in illicit trade, the global tobacco industry saw sales volumes go through fluctuations in 2013, moreso in some parts of the world and less so in others. Recent data for 2013 show that some of the countries in East Asia with the highest number of smokers, such as Japan and South Korea, have been able to cope with the downward trend and have strategic initiatives in place to counter the ef- fect and expand their market share. Japan The Tobacco Institute of Japan's statistics (for the fiscal year of April 2013-March 2014) show that Fiscal year: 2013 Brand Name Quantity (in millions) Share (%) Seven Stars 8,349 4.2 Mevius Super Lights 6,822 3.5 Mevius One • 100'S • box 6,755 3.4 Mevius Light 5,298 2.7 Mevius 4,878 2.5 Table 1: Japanese top-selling cigarette brands in 2013 East Asia: a Year in Review after a 1.2% drop in 2012 to 195.1 billion sticks from 197.5 billion a year earlier, equaling ¥61.5 billion (US$606 million) less in revenue, in 2013 the Japanese tobacco industry saw a 0.9% increase in cigarette sales volume to 196.9 billion sticks, or a ¥27.9 billion increase in revenue, bringing the tobacco sales in 2013 to ¥4.074 billion. The top- selling cigarette brand in Japan for 2013 was Japan Tobacco Inc's Seven Stars, followed by Mevius Su- per Lights, Mevius One 100s box, Mevius Light, and Mevius. Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI) reported a 3.3% growth in its domestic tobacco market in 2013, which it credited to steady growth in market share led by key brands and a one-off increase in de- mand preceding the consumption tax (VAT) hike, which is estimated to account for approximately 40% of a month's sales volume. Mevius remained the main driving force of the total market share gain to 61.0% (FY2012 total: 59.6%). For the 12-month period since its rebranding (from Mild Seven) in February 2013, total sales volume grew for the first time since 1998 (with the exception of the temporary impact of the March 2011 earth- quake). The release of new products, Mevius Pre- mium Menthol Option, and Mevius Premium Menthol By Nattira Medvedeva

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