Annual report 2010 - Imperial Tobacco Group

Satisfying consumers and aligning our portfolioto their evolving preferences is fundamental toour sales growth strategyJPS/AustraliaAs in many mature markets, smokersin Australia are increasingly seekingquality products at a competitiveprice, and we have aligned ourportfolio accordingly.Replicating similar success in othermarkets, most notably in Germany,JPS has rapidly become a keycomponent of our portfolio in Australia.Since 2009, the JPS brand hasestablished a 1.7 per cent shareof the Australian cigarette market.We are the only tobacco company inAustralia to have grown our cigarettevolumes during the last 12 months andthe performance of JPS has supportedour overall market share growth.Make Your Own (MYO)/Central EuropeLeveraging our comprehensive brandand product portfolio continues toprovide growth opportunities in ourRest of EU region.By anticipating consumers’preferences our volumes and marketshare in fine cut tobacco productshave significantly increased in anumber of markets, particularly thosein Central Europe with volumes ofMYO up by 44 per cent.A full range of Route 66 MYO productshas been launched in Poland and theCzech Republic to complement ourexisting Paramount brand.In September 2010 we becamethe first manufacturer in Finland tolaunch a range of MYO products byextending our cigarette brand Bonusto this sector.Davidoff/Eastern EuropeThe Davidoff brand family has beenextended in Eastern Europe in linewith evolving consumer demandsin the region.Davidoff Black & White has beenmade available in a kingsize superslimformat in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijanand Armenia.The kingsize superslim category isthe fastest growing segment in manymarkets in the region and this newvariant builds on the rejuvenationof Davidoff.Snus SuccessOur total tobacco portfolio wasfurther broadened in 2005 throughthe acquisition of the Skruf snusbusiness in Sweden.Volumes of our snus brands Skruf andKnox continue to grow year on year,increasing by 24 per cent in 2010.The two brands now account for morethan five per cent of the combinedsnus market in Sweden and Norwayand five years on from the acquisitionwe have developed significantexpertise in the smokeless sector.Our plans for a new snus factorywill provide us with the additionalcapacity required to match increasingdemand for our snus products inScandinavia. The factory is due tobe completed in 2011.121. By anticipating consumer preferencesfor fine cut tobacco in Central Europewe have grown Paramount volumes by67 per cent.2. We have grown Davidoff by 20 per centin Eastern Europe with particularsuccess in the growing superslimsand kingsize superslims segments.