breaking news
01 The leading e-cigarette sales company in Europe intends to acquire 50+ stores again!
European and American intelligence has learned that Kumulus Vape has recently announced that more than 50 e-cigarette shops have signed letters of intent to acquire it, covering many regions in France. And this is another accelerated offline layout after Kumulus Vape first acquired offline stores in December 2022. According to official news, Kumulus Vape stated that it will continue to adhere to the acquisition policy it has announced to the market. The e-cigarette stores that signed the acquisition letter of intent this time are composed of self-owned stores and franchise stores. Kumulus Vape is currently the leading e-cigarette sales company in France, with a turnover of about 7.8 million euros in 2022. Kumulus Vape has grown an average of about 80% annually over the past five years. Kumulus Vape said that by investing in the retail network, it will further enhance its bargaining power for upstream purchases. Through this acquisition, Kumulus Vape will become one of the e-cigarette companies with the most physical stores in France. According to the official website of Kumulus Vape, it currently provides more than 250 brands and 7,000 electronic cigarette products for sale. The main sales brands include Vaporesso, Innokin, Geekvape, etc.
▲ Comments: For the French market, large-scale distribution channels are still acquiring stores, investing in retail networks, and expanding sales channels, which shows that the market is predictable. And Kumulus Vape’s announcement of the intention to sign a letter to acquire a network of more than 50 specialty stores in many regions of France has also become an important event in the local channel. Moreover, Kumulus Vape is still a listed company and is in a leading position among French e-cigarette players. This time also reflects the determination of the enterprise Kumulus Vape and the network of specialty stores to work closely together.
02 British wholesaler Booker sells a large number of disposable electronic cigarettes!
British intelligence has learned that recent information shows that the British food wholesaler BOOKER has recently recalled some illegal products, but at the same time, some people said that these recalled products are expected to resume operations soon, and Elfbar and Lost Mary will also be in the next few days. Weekly to fully resume operations. Booker, a British food wholesaler, sells a large number of disposable electronic cigarettes. Its current sales agents include Elux, SKE Crystal, Mr Blaze, Tiger Blood, Sweet Blueberry Ice, Pink Lemonade, Blueberry Raspberry and Watermelon Ice and other brands of electronic cigarettes. The data also shows that Booker is a leading wholesale supplier in the UK market. As a catering wholesaler, it provides services to more than 170 catering companies, retailers and other businesses, covering most of the UK. Speaking of this wholesaler, I remember that in 2017, Tesco, the largest supermarket chain retailer in the UK, announced that it had agreed to acquire Booker, a food wholesaler, for 3.7 billion pounds ($4.7 billion). In March 2018, after obtaining court approval, British retailer Tesco PLC announced the completion of the acquisition of food wholesaler Booker Group Plc. According to data from Kantar Worldpane, Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain retailer, still dominates the UK grocery market with a 28% share.
▲ Comments: Through the data, it is found that many food wholesalers in the UK are also important sales channels for e-cigarettes, which deserve attention.
03 A Scottish Hollywood star unexpectedly appeared in an vape shop in Fraserburgh!
European and American intelligence has learned that a recent Scottish Hollywood star made a surprise appearance at an vape shop in Fraserburgh, that is, Tommy Flanagan and Mark Boone Jr., the duo of the TV series “Sons of Anarchy”, spontaneously went to Aberdeen County town, and stopped at the local VZP store, leaving the employees dumbfounded. While at the store, “Gladiator” and “Braveheart” star Tommy, a vaper himself, got a new vaping device, the AEQ 2.0, a refillable pack of pods and a bottle of Nasty Silver Blend e-liquid. While owner Steph added: “Mark and Tommy are very down to earth and chatty. It was a real pleasure and honor to have them visit our little vape shop in Fraserburgh”.
▲ Comments: The star visited a sales point of an e-cigarette expert. As an e-cigarette user, he bought e-cigarettes, e-liquid and refillable equipment to reserve supplies. This is indeed news. And the store VPZ that appeared this time is one of the largest e-cigarette chain companies in Scotland. It also said this year it planned to open 20 more stores by the end of the year. Furthermore, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, and it can be seen that celebrities use e-cigarettes in the United Kingdom, which is also very common.
04 The number of e-cigarette stores in New York City has doubled!
Unexpectedly, in New York City, the economic downturn has forced the closure of many local small businesses; the proliferation of e-cigarette and tobacco shops is a notable exception. “There are about 80 to 90 stores in the area, I’ve lost count,” said “Sammy,” the CEO, who employs 200 people and has no investors, said in an interview. According to Falls Church City sales tax records for a New York vape store, at least three vape stores have opened in the Falls Church metropolitan area since 2020: another Tobacco King at 111 West Broad St. and one at 1055 West Broad St. “Fine Cigars” Eastern Smoke Shop. Sells CBD (legal in Virginia since 2019) and fruit-flavored gummy bears that vapers love. Tobacco King has the widest coverage, registered as a variation of the name Saleh Omar Salim, with Fairfax locations at Leesburg Pike and Arlington Blvd., and additional Virginia locations at Arlington, Woodbridge, Sterling, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Glen Allen, and Blue Ridge . Also, is there anything special about the Falls Church Market? “Commercially, it’s no different than other counties,” he said. “Since the rise of the vaping industry, we’ve sold more e-cigarettes than tobacco,” starting July 1, 2020, as liquid nicotine (“vape juice”) begins to be taxed at 6.6 cents per milliliter Virginia Tobacco Products Tax.
▲ Comments: Vape stores in New York City have doubled, and the shelves are well stocked, indicating that in the US market, e-cigarettes have become a hot spot for retail store operations.
05 China helps boost the Russian e-cigarette market!
Eastern European intelligence learned that with the withdrawal of European and American tobacco manufacturers this year, and the gradual reduction of foreign e-cigarette brands doing business in Russia due to the Ukrainian war, the growth of Chinese e-cigarettes in Russia has become possible. According to real estate platform DNA REALTY, the number of tobacco shops in Russia will increase by at least 20% in 2022, with most of the profits coming from e-cigarette sales. And “in Russia, e-cigarettes have great potential as an alternative to the tobacco market, where e-cigarette consumers account for 6.8% of total smokers,” and “after the United States and Europe, Russia is the third largest electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) in the world. ) importing countries.” China accounts for 90% of the global market. In 2021, China’s exports to Russia will reach 82.5 billion rubles. In 2022, it may increase by 35%, reaching 111 billion rubles.”
▲ Comments: Russia is already an important exporter of e-cigarettes to China, and the number of tobacco shops in Russia will increase by at least 20% in 2022, which shows that the number of e-cigarette sales scenes and stores in Russia has increased significantly, helping the growth of the local market. Including China’s export data for the first two months of this year, it also shows that the export value of e-cigarettes to Russia has also continued to grow significantly.
06 VUSE landed on the Japanese market for the first time with zero nicotine!
European and American intelligence learned that BAT Japan (British American Tobacco Japan Branch) recently announced that VUSE, the brand with the largest market share in the United States, will enter the Japanese market in the form of a one-time nicotine-free Vuse Go. Product specifications: 500 mouthfuls, four flavors (blueberry ice, watermelon berry, mint ice, classic). The release method is a limited trial sale on Amazon Japan. BAT Japan stated that the trial sale of VUSE is to expand the selection of non-combustible tobacco products in the Japanese market. According to public information, currently BAT Japan
Major brands sold in Japan include KENT, KOOL, LUCKY STRIKE, neo™, glo™ and VELO. BAT’s entry into the 0-Ni market in the Japanese market will pose new challenges to the competition of local companies. After all, in the past, a large number of herbal atomization, 0-Ni products entered Japan and gained a lot of sales. In terms of smoking sets, there are, for example, China Enterprise SMOK/Yijiate and other brands. According to PRTIMES, nicotine-free e-cigarette products in Japan have begun to penetrate year by year, and the market size of nicotine-free e-cigarette products in Japan is estimated to be about 60 billion yen (about 3.1 billion yuan).
▲ Comments: BAT has strengthened its penetration into the Japanese market, showing its focus on the Asia-Pacific market. In Japan, due to policy restrictions on vaping e-cigarettes containing nicotine, mainstream e-cigarettes are heat-not-burn, but 0Ni can be sold in Japan. It landed on the Japanese market for the first time with VUSE and zero nicotine, which is also a way to enhance the influence of BAT. At the same time, BAT already has a considerable market position in heat-not-burn in Japan. According to statistics released by Japanese new tobacco blogger Genki (@MOQLOG_JP) in April this year, iQOS has a market share of 53% in Japan, followed by Ploom, a Japanese tobacco company, with 24%, and British American Tobacco in third place. 20% of the Glo. At present, BAT is also spreading a large amount of one-time distribution all over the world. Including starting in the UK in May 2022, rapidly spreading to France (eg Vuse PUFF), Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Spain and possibly elsewhere.
