Annual report 2010 - Imperial Tobacco Group

We are a responsive business with strong andtrusted customer and industry partnershipswhich enhances our growth potentialSouth KoreaIn January 2010 we entered into alicence agreement with the SouthKorean tobacco manufacturer KT&G.Under the terms of the agreement,KT&G manufactures and sells ourglobal strategic cigarette brandDavidoff on our behalf in South Korea.Leveraging KT&G’s experienceand expertise in its home market,the partnership has led to thesuccessful launch of Davidoff inconvenience stores across thecountry, the outlet for internationalbrands. By September, we hadcaptured 0.4 per cent of thisretail channel.South Korea is an important globalmarket, with a total size of around90 billion cigarettes per annum.MoroccoWe have a good working relationshipwith Phillip Morris International (PMI)and last year signed an agreementfor the manufacture, distributionand merchandising of their brandsin Morocco.The agreement complementsour long-standing and successfuldistribution agreements with PMIin the UK and Ireland.Our subsidiary Altadis Maroc hasunrivalled tobacco distributionexpertise in the country and ourAin Harrouda factory is one ofour leading manufacturing facilities.The PMI agreement also reflectsour continuous focus on efficiencyand quality improvements.AustraliaRetailer awards received in Australiarecognise our committed approachto providing first class support toour customers.We were named as Tobacco Supplierof the Year 2009 by Spar Australia,an award judged on a range ofcriteria including sales value increase,levels of service and categorymanagement expertise.The successful launch of JPS inAustralia also earned recognitionat the 7 Eleven Supplier Awards.The Best Speed to Market awardreflected the excellent market sharegains made by JPS in its first threemonths in the market.Since its launch across the 7 Elevennetwork JPS has developed ashare of more than 32 per centof its growing segment and 2.8per cent overall market share.NetherlandsOur business in the Netherlandshas been named as a ‘GoldenPartner for Constructive Approach’in awards conducted by a Dutchretail trade magazine.The award was judged on feedbackreceived from leading retail clients forthe Company’s approach to categorymanagement in stores across theNetherlands. Imperial was praisedfor its constructive approach inproviding retailers with quality adviceon all products, across all tobaccocategories, not just our own brands.The award demonstrates ourcommitment to working closelywith our customers and ultimatelyour consumers by sharing ourknowledge of the tobacco categoryand providing genuine consumerchoice by making the right productsavailable at the right time and in theright place.21. We have received a numberof retailer awards in Australiaincluding a best speed tomarket award for our JPSbrand launch.2. Left to Right – Lee Kwangyoul,Senior ManagingDirector, KT&G and AndrewLochrie, Regional Director,Asia Pacific sign anagreement for themanufacture and sale ofDavidoff in South Korea.1