BUILDING ON GREAT BRANDS Global company Scandinavian Tobacco Group holds a number of market leading positions worldwide. With its recent strategic merger and a sophisticated understanding of the market, the company expects continued success. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to executive vice president of sales and marketing Christian Hother Sorensen to find out more.
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a global company with a Danish head office, Scandinavian Tobacco Group is dedicated to the manufacture and sale of cigars and smoking tobacco to adult smokers worldwide. The company employs more than 10,000 people across its network of sales companies and production facilities in 20 countries, and it sells its products in more than 100 countries worldwide. Established as Scandinavian Tobacco Group in 2010 following the merger of the tobacco business of the former Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S and the cigar and pipe tobacco business, not including the US cigar business, of Swedish Match, the history of the company actually reaches back more than 200 years, when three Danish tobacco dynasties joined to launch new products. 86 Industry Europe
Strong global position
Executive vice president of sales and marketing Christian Hother Sorensen explained how the company’s historical markets continue to contribute to its strong position today. He said, “Scandinavian Tobacco is the world’s largest player in the field of pipe tobacco, holds a shared number one position within the world of cigars, and has a strong position within the fine-cut tobacco segment in Scandinavia. We are proud of our history and our profession, and it is our vision to continue that growth based on strong brands and committed employees. We are aware that our products and our business require consideration and responsibility in everything we do.” The merger of Scandinavian Tobacco with Swedish Match during 2010 doubled
the size of the organisation, and it is now concentrated on the three core segments of cigars, pipe tobacco and fine-cut tobacco. The integration of Swedish Match continues to be an important focus for the Group, with both central functions such as marketing, sales and finance and overlapping markets all adding value. In addition to the merger, on March 1 2011 Scandinavian Tobacco acquired Lane Ltd, a US-based company that is the local market leader in the pipe tobacco and finecut segments. This company is now being integrated into Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Mr Sorensen added, “Lane Ltd is a perfect fit with us as it enables us to cover a previous gap in our global portfolio, particularly with Lane’s well-known Captain Black brand.”
