BRAND SPOTLIGHT: IMPERIAL BRANDS
Imperial Brands looks back on ‘exciting and successful’ year
Last year, Imperial Brands, including its duty free division, switched from a regular tobacco company to one which is focusing on new generation products. Imperial also moved to a new duty free headquarters in Madrid and unveiled a new global connections theme in Cannes, as Andrew Pentol discovers.
O
n reflection, 2018 was an exciting and successful year for all associated with
tobacco company Imperial Brands. The company made significant
steps towards preparing for the future and put itself in a position to deliver on its Global Duty Free & Export 2022 strategy. In addition to several changes
within the organisation, Imperial moved its duty free headquarters from Germany and the UK to Madrid to help plan for the future. Tobias Maude replaced Dr Jennifer
Cords as Head of Corporate and Legal Affairs, Global Duty Free and Export in October, the same month Imperial emphasised its new global connections theme at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. The completely renewed stand
featured a futuristic look and took visitors on a journey to explore Imperial’s brands and introduce the next generation myblu vaping label. Christian Münstermann, Global
Duty Free and Export Sales and Marketing Director tells TRBusiness: “All the different regions across the world performed very nicely, so we were very pleased with 2018.”
Regional dynamics Different regions had different dynamics from the travelling smoker’s point of view, but Asia and the Middle East performed particularly well last year, emphasises Münstermann. “We saw strong growth in the Middle East and also in Asia with one of our biggest brands, Davidoff.” New innovations brought into the
market such as its crushball menthol product, which was introduced in
MAY 2019
Asia, yielded positive results. “That was really successful, so overall, we had a really good year with the normal challenges everybody had in duty free.” In terms of challenges,
Münstermann cites the switch from a regular tobacco company to one which also focuses on new generation products as a positive transition. “This requires different knowledge and skill-sets because technology is involved.” He adds: “There is a lot of
innovation and things are happening quickly in the market. This is one of the reasons we changed our thinking in terms of how the organisation works. We wanted to be ready to operate in this environment within the category. “I actually felt this was more of an
opportunity than a challenge. This I because it brought fresh thinking and new elements into the organisation. These are both required in the current climate.” Pressed by TRBusiness on whether
the emergence of new generation products might impact demand for traditional tobacco products, Münstermann remarks: “We know from domestic markets that 60%- 70% of consumers are dualists. “There are many who smoke with
a beer in the evening and vape during the day in the office. “From a duty free perspective, we
need to understand the purchasing patterns of consumers. I think there is a room for both types of tobacco products, but time will tell.” Following its core focus
nationalities around the world is another priority. He explains: “Brits and Germans are two of the key
nationalities we are following. When we look at our portfolio, we see we have a lot of British brands in US duty free, for example. “A lot of British passengers are
flying to places like New York and Orlando, so we are doing quite well in the Americas.” Imperial Brands, which will
begin the duty free roll-out of myblu in Europe and the Americas this summer, has a positive feeling for 2019. “We have now finalised our change
of people and structures and will soon launch myblu into duty free. “This will be a significant milestone,
because it will mark our first entry into this category,” he concludes. «
“There is a lot of innovation and things are happening quickly in the market. This is one of the reasons we changed our thinking in terms of how the organisation works.”
Christian Münstermann, Global Duty Free and Export Sales and Marketing Director, Imperial Brands
TRBUSINESS 135
Above: Christian Münstermann, Global Duty Free and Export Sales and Marketing Director, Imperial Brands; and Patricia Augustin Tejón, Global Category & Activation Manager (Global Duty Free & Export), Imperial Brands.
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