INTERNATIONAL. Japan Tobacco International (JTI) aims to deepen its cooperation with travel retailers and build awareness among consumers of the value on offer in tobacco in the channel – and the company is investing heavily behind that ambition.
Crucial to the drive is raising the standard of retailing in-store and creating the right platform to showcase tobacco, with the view to improving penetration levels. The company said that the high profile of tobacco at, for example, The Nuance Group’s new-look Geneva Airport store, where tobacco is prominent, and similar forthcoming projects such as one with Schiphol Airport Retail at Amsterdam, underline the strength of the approach, the company said.
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Winston Cosmo Trotter: Among the key new lines for travel retail |
JTI Director Strategic Key Account Management, Worldwide Duty Free Christopher Powell said: “We are finding that retailers are responding very well when we define together exactly what tobacco’s role is and should be in the store. Retailers are endorsing our view that we should be communicating more effectively with adult smokers, and taking a more sophisticated approach to that communication.
“Tobacco can offer the same sense of theatre as other categories, and we are investing in upscale merchandising and retailing solutions with some key partners. We can have interaction with travellers, we can make the airport store a destination for smokers, which it is not in many cases today. Tobacco is still a key driver of footfall and can engage the consumer, and we want to do that in a holistic way. It’s also important that the industry defines the message it gives in this channel, rather than waiting for outside influences to define what it can and cannot be.”
As well as encouraging strong positioning for the category, as well as developing premium merchandising and theatre in-store, JTI is also building on its acclaimed Smoking Lounge programme. Eastern Europe and the Middle East will be key regions for the Smoking Lounge drive, with more innovation and interaction part of the programme.
Having designed and built 271 Smoking Lounges and related facilities at 19 airports to date, the company said it is now “taking the levels of comfort, design and utilities” in its smoking lounges even further.
The company is also developing new pack solutions to build brand awareness among adult smokers.
Among these is the Winston Cosmo Trotter Limited Edition 2011, which features a collection of five different cities from around the world on the packs, available in two different brand styles, Winston Classic and Winston Blue. This travel retail exclusive will be found in selected airports worldwide for a few weeks only.
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The Mild Seven Global Map limited edition launches in Asia |
The new Camel “Discover the World” Limited Edition 2011 aims to build on the brand’s 2010 edition, which it hailed as one of its most successful limited editions to date.
The new collection comprises high-quality cardboard with five deco tins and five normal packs inside, with special metal printing. The collection will be available only in key airports for a short period of time, in two different brand styles – Camel Blue and Camel Filters.
Mild Seven “Global Map” Limited Edition 2011 will be exclusively launched in airports duty free shops in five Asian markets. It features the “Atlas book” carton, which houses an abstract global map made by multiple Mild Seven icons.
As previously reported, the brand owner has also introduced an innovative “˜less smoke smell’ (LSS) cigarette to global travel retail under the Mild Seven name.
