KT&G, the largest cigarette maker in South Korea, sinks its teeth into the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia.
According to KT&G’s 2015 overseas sales data, 18.4 billion cigarette sticks, or 39.6 percent of the total sales (46.5 billion cigarettes sticks), were sold in relatively new export markets including the US, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific nations, which is a 2.5-fold jump from 2010. In 2010, 15.4 percent of KT&G’s total sales came from the new markets.
Compared to 2010, sales more than trebled to 6.2 billion cigarettes in the new markets.
By region, KT&G sold a total of 2.8 billion cigarettes in the US in 2015, more than double its sales of 1.1 billion sticks in 2010. In 2010, the Korean cigarette maker set up a subsidiary in the US and launched a new variant of Time for US consumers. Since then the company has seen growing demand for TIME in the US.
Strong sales of KT&G’s ultra slim cigarettes helped the company chalk up 2.8 billion cigarettes in 2015 sales in Africa, roughly a 70-fold increase from 40 million in 2010 sales. During the same period, KT&G’s sales ascended 7-fold and 2-fold in Latin American and Asia-pacific countries, respectively.
TIME was the best-selling brand in the US while the export-only brand PINE found favor with consumers in Africa and Latin America.
ESSE cigarettes came out on top in Asia-Pacific nations; the Bohem Cigar line, made with cigar leaves, greatly appealed to consumers in Taiwan.
