Looking abroad
close up elevated view of cigarettes in a row with world map. manipulated Nasa world map image used, www.nasa.gov
KT&G is strengthening its international tobacco business in the wake of declining sales at home, reports The Korea Times.
In July, the South Korean cigarette manufacturer created four new teams in its global division—two overseas expansion teams and two overseas brand teams.
The expansion teams will open up emerging market opportunities whereas the brand teams will plan and execute successful localization strategies, the company said.
KT&G also plans to extend its global network to 100 countries by 2020 and 200 countries by 2025.
The moves are made in the context of stagnant domestic sales, driven by anti-smoking measures and a shrinking population.
Cigarettes sales declined by 0.6 percent in the first half of 2019 from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Smokers purchased 1.67 billion 20-cigarette packs between January and June 2019, compared with 1.68 billion packs in the same period last year. KT&G’s cigarette sales were down by 100 million to 9.1 billion.
Over the same period, KT&G’s overseas cigarette sales totaled 8.1 billion, up 25 percent from a year ago.
KT&G accounts for 63 percent of South Korea’s tobacco market, which does not include e-cigarettes.
