Considerations on whether strong pricing, which has become the tobacco industry's flagship concept can stay strong or whether we are beginning to witness the beginnings of a change. It has become a cliche, though one almost unique to the tobacco industry in general and cigarettes in particular, that lower volume sales do not mean lower value sales or lower profits. The prestidigitation peculiar to this industry is that, in markets (and this applies to most markets) where there are fewer smokers smoking fewer cigarettes every year, the amount spent on cigarettes continues to rise, as do company profits. This is because smokers continue to pay more for the cigarettes they smoke due to sticking with their favourite brand in their accustomed price banddespite prices rising or even trading up. In other words the financial success of the tobacco industry, an industry more beleaguered by hostile legislation than any other FMCG market in the history of the world, is largely due to strong pricing.
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