Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/566084
tobaccoasia 19 growth is targeted, while in returns markets the priority is the active management of already existing strong share positions. Global Brand Portfolio Optimization More than half of the company's net revenue is generated through its product ranges of growth brands and specialist brands. "We have therefore optimized our portfolio to focus on our growth and specialist brands, whereas our regular portfolio brands either add to our revenue generation or will be [eventu- ally] migrated into growth brands," elaborated Watkins. Growth Brands Imperial Tobacco's growth brands have rather broad appeal and several of them have been developed into "total tobacco offer- ings," as Watkins calls them, providing consumers with both cigarette and fine-cut tobacco smoking experiences. The firm's growth brands currently are: Davidoff, Gauloises, Lambert & Butler (L&B), Parker & Simpson (P&S), News, John Player & Sons (JPS), West, USA Gold, Fine, and Bastos According to Watkins, Imperial's growth brands continue to outperform the market, with underlying sales volumes up 12% and market shares of up to 6.1%. In line with the compa- ny's strategy, this growth is mainly driven by brand migrations. "In optimizing our portfolio, we've clustered these 10 growth brands on to 5 platforms, or 'brand chassis'. Brands that share the same chassis also share the same growth initiatives, including innovations and pack designs. This reduces cost and complexity and drives greater consistency in the way we push their perfor- mance," elaborated Watkins Brand Migrations Brand migrations primarily focus on migrating regular portfo- lio brands into growth brands. These migrations support the performance of Imperial's growth brands and recently included the migrations of Royale Club to Parker & Simpson (P&S) in Iraq, Brooklyn to West in Spain, and Maxim to JPS in Greece. "We [currently] have a considerable number of portfolio brands, a legacy of our long acquisition track record," said Wat- kins. "Many are single market offerings with limited brand equity. These brands can better support our quality growth aspirations by being migrated into stronger, higher-quality growth brands." Diagram: The company's four-prong stales strategy and business model that targets maximum shareholder return