IMPERIAL BRANDS Left: Imperial launched Pulze— a new heated tobacco product—in a city pilot in Fukuoka, Japan. Bottom: myblu has been rolled out into major European markets, leveraging the company’s retail channels.
A Good Six Months for Imperial. What Lies Ahead? “Asset” brands and NGPs lead the way. From Staff Reports t is an article of faith that American states with higher excise taxes typically have higher rates of smuggling. Overall revenues at Imperial Brands are up 2.5 per cent for the six months ending March 31, with Europe and the Americas both growing revenue by 4 percent. “This has been another half of pleasing underlying tobacco performance enhanced by the growing contribution of our NGP business,” said Alison Cooper, the company’s Chief Executive. In tobacco, Imperial continues to focus on longstanding brand and market priorities, and they are delivering high margin sales growth, Cooper said. “Our Asset Brands continue to outperform and now repre-
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sent two thirds of our revenue. There has been significant progress in building the company’s NGP business w ith investment behind myblu generating awareness and consumer adoption, resulting in leading
pers and retailers in a growing number of markets while the company continues to focus on building its presence on-line and in specialist vape stores, said Cooper. Increased investment in brand building and marketing activities are supporting consistent growth in sales to consumers particularly through traditional retail outlets NGP revenue was up by over 200 per cent to £148m driven by expansion in Europe, Japan and continued growth in the US, although we have seen a slowdown in the US where regulatory statements have tempered growth of the category. We continue to monitor regulatory developments in the US and will seek to mitigate any further potential impacts. “Our objective is to transition adult smokers to something better, and we continue to refine the approach we are taking based on learnings from market rollouts and deepening consumer insights,” she said.
There has been significant progress in building the company’s NGP business with investment behind myblu generating awareness and consumer adoption… retail shares in most markets. “We are building on this momentum in the second half focused on further omnichannel expansion and new product initiatives,” said Cooper. “We have set the foundations for accelerated revenue growth, and we are on track to meet our full year expectations.” Growing Sales of blu Strong growth in sales of myblu reflects the positive response from smokers, va-
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Building Distribution “We are building distribution to ensure blu is available where smokers go to buy tobacco which is increasing the importance of the retail channel in driving category growth.” The roll-out of myblu into major European markets has leveraged Imperial’s expertise in the retail and tobacconist channels, and it has rapidly expanded national distribution in Italy, France and Germany.
