Tag: RELX

  • RELX Recognized for Sustainability

    RELX Recognized for Sustainability

    Image: RLX Technology

    RLX Technology’s (RELX) score rose 13 percent in S&P Global’s most recent corporate sustainability assessment. The company ranked first among all global e-cigarette companies for the second consecutive year.

    The Chinese company scored well above the industry average in many ESG topics, such as product innovation management, business ethics, talent development, greenhouse gas emissions and transparency of information disclosure.

    “RELX views sustainability not just as a goal but as a fundamental part of our DNA,” said RELX Senior Manager for External Affairs Elgin Seah in a statement. “The impressive rating from S&P Global reaffirms that our efforts in environmental conservation, social responsibility and corporate governance are making a meaningful difference.”

    In addition to complying with China’s recently created product standards for e-cigarettes, RELX has established a full life-cycle quality assurance program to ensure product quality and safety in a holistic manner.

  • RLX Buys ‘Market Leaders’

    RLX Buys ‘Market Leaders’

    Photo: RLX Technology

    RLX Technology entered into two share purchase agreements with two target companies and their respective shareholders with a total consideration of approximately $25 million. The entry of the share purchase agreements for business acquisitions and the transactions contemplated thereunder have been approved by the company’s board of directors and audit committee.

    Each of the two target companies is a market leader in the vapor industry in their home countries, located in Southeast Asia and North Asia, respectively, RLX wrote on its website. The transactions contemplated under the share purchase agreements for business acquisitions are expected to facilitate the company’s international expansion in Southeast Asia and North Asia. The company also plans to continue its overseas expansion in the future.

  • RLX Obtains Chinese Manufacturing License

    RLX Obtains Chinese Manufacturing License

    Photo: RLX Technology

    China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has licensed RLX Technology to operate in the vapor business.

    On Nov. 26, 2021, China’s State Council amended the country’s tobacco monopoly law to include vapor products, giving the STMA authority to regulate the sector.

    The STMA license, which is valid until July 31, 2023, allows RLX Technology to manufacture 15.05 million rechargeable vaping devices, 328.7 million cartridges and 6.1 million disposable e-cigarettes per year.

    Since the first quarter of 2022, Chinese authorities have issued a series of implementing rules and guiding opinions to strengthen oversight of e-cigarette products and regulate the e-cigarette industry. These rules and opinions set forth that all e-cigarette manufacturing enterprises must obtain a license from the STMA.

    “This license represents an important milestone in our strategic roadmap as we strive to comply with the new regulatory requirements in a timely manner,” said Ying (Kate) Wang, co-founder, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of RLX Technology, in a statement.

    “We believe that we are well-positioned to achieve compliance in our operations according to schedule. To adapt to the new market dynamics and ensure business development, we will, and will urge our business partners to, continue making efforts to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, obtaining requisite licenses and regulatory approvals, developing products that meet the mandatory national standards, and processing all transactions via the National E-cigarette Transaction Platform when it is implemented.

    “We will remain committed to providing high-quality products that deliver superior performance and safety in strict compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, while exploring new growth opportunities in the industry.”

  • RELX Stops Offering Flavors in Philippines

    RELX Stops Offering Flavors in Philippines

    Photo: Aliaksandr Barouski

    RELX International is no longer selling flavored vape products in its outlets throughout the Philippines, according to the Manilla Standard.

    Republic Act No. 11467 and Joint Memorandum Circular No. 003-2020 prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale, and distribution of vapor products with flavoring other than tobacco or menthol in the country.

    Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Jan. 22, 2020, the act increases the excise tax rates on alcohol, heated tobacco, and vape products to generate funds for the government to deliver quality and affordable health care services. 

    RELX said the move reflects its commitment to support important reforms that will benefit the collection of tax revenues while catering to legal-age adult smokers, preventing access of e-cigarette among minors, and ensuring responsible and standard-compliant e-cigarettes in retail points across the country. 

  • Smoore and Relx Among Top Patent Applicants

    Smoore and Relx Among Top Patent Applicants

    Photo: Smoore

    Smoore and RELX were among the vaping business’ most prolific patent applicants in 2021, according to the Chinese Enterprise PCT International Patent Application Ranking. Smoore topped the list with 84 international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the company announced in a press release. RELX filed 74 international patent applications during the year.

    Based on the number of PCT international patent applications in 2021, the ranking is published by IPRdaily, an intellectual property publication, and incoPat, a global patent database.

    By Dec. 31, 2021, Smoore had more than 3,408 patent applications cumulatively, including 1,674 authorized patent applications. The company’s patent applications relate to atomization and other technologies. In January, the company launched the world’s thinnest ceramic coil vape pod solution. Equipped with a new generation of the Ultra-slim Bionic Film Ceramic Coil, FEELM Air features seven breakthroughs, including in reliability, flavor and interactive experience, according to Smoore.

    To date, the company has hired 1,500 R&D experts from different scientific backgrounds and established 10 centers for cross-disciplinary research. Five additional centers are under construction.

    The company says it’s committed to protecting its intellectual property. In October 2021, Smoore filed a complaint to the United States International Trade Commission against 38 American and Canadian enterprises and individuals for copying certain features of its oil-vaping cartridges and components technologies.

  • RELX Registers its Clinical Research

    RELX Registers its Clinical Research

    Photo: RELX

    RELX has initiated China’s first clinical research on vaping safety. The company is studying the acute effects of traditional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes on the human respiratory system and cardiovascular system. This month, RELX registered its clinical research with the China Clinical Trial Registry, a primary registry in the World Health Organization Registry Network.

    In a press release, REXL took the opportunity to highlight its commitment to cross-disciplinary fundamental research into atomization mechanisms, so as to explore the long-term health effects of vaping.

    In March 2021, RELX conducted clinical research on the metabolism and kinetics of nicotine. In both clinical studies, RELX used the vaping devices made by its strategic partner Smoore.

    Moreover, in September 2021, RELX and Smoore took the lead in drafting two industry standards “General Technical Specifications for Electronic Atomization Devices” and “Safety Technical Specifications for E-liquid”, led by the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of China Electronic Chamber of Commerce.

    In October 2020, the National Natural Science Foundation of China approved a research program on vaping harm reduction jointly conducted by Smoore and Tongji University. Over the next few years, Smoore and Tongji University will continue to conduct a series of studies on the health effects of vaping.

    In January, Smoore launched the world’s thinnest ceramic coil vape pod solution—FEELM Air—in London. Compared with last generation, FEELM Air boasts an overall harm reduction performance improvement of 80 percent.

    On Dec. 2, 2021, China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the draft rules governing e-cigarettes following the regulator’s release of the exposure draft of national standards of e-cigarettes on Nov. 30, 2021.

    As China’s national standards of e-cigarettes come into effective, RELX said it will continue to increase its R&D investment and examine the harm reduction of vaping via scientific substantiation.

  • RLX Reports Lower Quarterly Revenues

    RLX Reports Lower Quarterly Revenues

    Photo: Freedomz

    RLX Technology today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021.

    Net revenues were CNY1.68 billion ($260.2 million), representing a decrease of 34 percent from CNY2.54 billion in the second quarter of 2021.

    Gross margin was 39.1 percent, compared to 45.1 percent in the second quarter of 2021. U.S. GAAP net income was CNY976.4 million, compared with CNY824.3 million in the second quarter of 2021.

    Non-GAAP net income was CNY452.7 million, compared with CNY651.8 million in the second quarter of 2021.

    “In the third quarter, we continued to develop our business through concerted efforts deepening our scientific research abilities, adding to our differentiated product portfolio, and enhancing our sustainability initiatives. We also strengthened our core capabilities by expanding our talent pool, optimizing our retail network and making digitalization upgrades to our operating infrastructure,” said Ying (“Kate”) Wang, co-founder, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of RLX Technology, in a statement.

    “Looking ahead, with the formal confirmation of the amendment to the implementation rules of tobacco monopoly law announced last week bringing innovative tobacco products including e-cigarettes under the regulatory framework, together with the draft administrative measures for electronic cigarettes and the draft national electronic cigarette product standards announced earlier this week, we believe the sector will enter a new era of development—an era marked by enhanced product safety and quality, augmented social responsibilities, and improved intellectual property protection. These developments will pave way for long-term sustainable growth in this sector.”

    “In the past quarter, we placed even more focus on investments in R&D, organizational upgrades and operational efficiency improvements in existing channels, shifting from the efforts on distribution network expansion in previous quarters,” said Chao Lu, chief financial officer of RLX Technology. “As a result, we have a richer product portfolio in the pipeline and healthier inventory levels across our value chain.”

    “We believe our quarterly revenue drop was temporary, and the investments we made in products, talents, research, and compliance in the third quarter and beyond will place us in advantageous positions under the new regulatory paradigm. We expect these investments to yield steady and sustainable growth soon,” Lu added.

     

  • RELX Announces Saudi Distribution Partnership

    RELX Announces Saudi Distribution Partnership

    Photo: viperagp

    RELX International has announced a partnership with SAF Trading Agencies for the exclusive distribution of RELX products throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    “This is an incredibly important partnership for RELX International, and we’re thrilled to be working with SAF Trading Agencies, who will leverage their extensive KSA distribution network to make the brand widely available nationwide for our adult consumers,” said Fouad Barakat, general manager for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Algeria at RELX, in a statement.

    “Our aim is to drive awareness and sales, as well as our corporate messaging to our target audience, adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking, across the region.”

    Since its establishment in the late 1980s, SAF Trading Agencies has grown into an extensive group of companies covering a diversified range of activities and markets, including pharmaceuticals, e-cigarettes and food production.

    According to RELX, the Middle East and North Africa region is one of the vapor business’ fastest growing markets, expanding at a rate just short of 10 percent until 2024.

  • RELX Launches its Products in Saudi Arabia

    RELX Launches its Products in Saudi Arabia

    Photo: Mohammed

    RELX has launched in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The e-cigarette brand is already available in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait—and has further plans to expand into the wider Middle East and northern Africa (MENA) region this year.

    The Kingdom has announced new regulations, similar to those set across Europe, following the standard setup for e-cigarette packaging and labeling, which was introduced in September 2020.

    “The MENA region is one of our category’s fastest-growing markets, growing at a rate just short of 10 percent until 2024,” said Fouad Barakat, KSA general manager at RELX International, in a statement. “Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s largest and most prosperous markets, hence the need for any brand to launch there if it wants to thrive and grow bigger.”

    There are two products available: RELX Infinity and RELX Nano2.

  • RELX Warns Against Fake Sellers

    RELX Warns Against Fake Sellers

    Example of a fake RELX website selling unofficial RELX products

    RELX International has warned consumers against purchasing its products through unofficial or unlicensed websites. “It has recently come to the attention of RELX International that a number of unlicensed persons or companies are attempting to profit off of the good and responsible reputation of the RELX brand in a number of markets, including Australia and Philippines,” the company stated in a press release.

    “In addition to selling unlicensed and potentially fake products, these websites and social media channels have been disseminating a variety of unfounded claims about our products or e-cigarette products in general. RELX International only provides science-based information about our products and only sells products to adult smokers or vapers. Furthermore, RELX International never uses any cartoons or ‘kid-friendly’ images or videos in our branding.

    “RELX International established the Golden Shield Program in 2019 to help prevent the production and sale of illicit e-cigarette goods such as those mentioned above. With the goal of safeguarding adult e-cigarette users’ right to access quality products, members of RELX International’s Golden Shield Program utilize large amounts of data and other technologies to track down illicit e-cigarette products sold online and offline. The Golden Shield team actively works with online social media platforms, online e-commerce platforms as well as Customs authorities to eliminate illicit vaping products from the market.

    “The Golden Shield team has already helped authorities launch 28 criminal cases related to the illegal production and sale of illicit or copyright infringing e-cigarette products. Over 77,000 websites and over 6,000 social media accounts have been taken down due to the Golden Shield team’s efforts, and 550,000 illicit products have been removed from the market.

    “Moving forward, we are committed to getting even more counterfeit products off the market.”

    The release lists all the official RELX websites as well as provides an email address to confirm third-party websites that are selling authentic RELX products.