Comments on: Altria Closes UST Acquisition – What Does This Mean?

By: Mr. Tobacco

Mr. Tobacco — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:51:50 +0000

Mr. Copenhagen Charlie,
I suspect you are right, and what you stated is pretty much what I feel half the time. The other half of the time I get nervous and think there must be a way that they figure this out. Let’s face it, Cope/Skoal are tired brands. Grizzly has all the thunder and is the market leader. They have taken some big actions this year, but no data I see shows any improvement in the business. At least it what growing under UST management. Unless something else changes, the situation should right itself to the detriment of PM. They tied their space to their share, and their share is declining. At the end of the the current round of MST retail contracts, they should have 3-4 fewer slots in the rack.

By: Copenhagen Charlie

Copenhagen Charlie — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:27:40 +0000

Seems like Mr. Tobacco must be in disguise for Mr. PM.
There ain’t a chance in hell that they right side this ship!
Skoal Edge is a bad idea gone badder! Volume just tanked Mr. Tobacco. Pretty soon they will be giving it away. Who is running the moist ship at PM any way? Is it Mister Mike? I ask you a question Mr. Tobacco, How does a sales force that once had disdain for a product now embrace a product? Will be very interesting if you ask me but then I’m a long time Copenhagen dipper!

By: Mr. Tobacco

Mr. Tobacco — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:12:16 +0000

It is too early to count PM out on the MST side. It will take a while for them to right the ship. On the downside for them are the risks from both Camel snus and newly introduced Camel MST (not to mention Grizzly). I believe they will stabilize, but getting back to growth will take time and be difficult.

Any thoughts from the community on the reduction in pricing on Skoal Edge? Threat to competitors or just blowing smoke?

By: smoker

smoker — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:55:48 +0000

It’s still very early in the game. I wouldn’t count Altria out. The track record speaks for itself coupled with the FDA passage. If they go down they’re gonna go down swing’n.

By: OTP Kid

OTP Kid — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:42:42 +0000

Just received confirmation from a distributor that supplies Walgreen’s that only USST products are being removed from the set due to the Altria return policy. Not sure if this was initiated by Altria or Walgreen’s. Looks like a good day for Grizzly!

By: Tobacco Guy

Tobacco Guy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:32:53 +0000

I find out for you OTP KID.
I hear PM can’t even right side their cig numbers right now either.

By: OTP Kid

OTP Kid — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:03:20 +0000

OK so do any of you sour-grapes ex-UST guys know if Walgreen’s is disontinuing the lines or not?

By: Tobacco Guy

Tobacco Guy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:25:46 +0000

UST moist snuff sales have declined dramatically since the acquisition by PM. They turned a (slightly) growing business into a declining business. Worse yet, they tied their share of the Moist Snuff rack to their can share of the category. Not a good idea with ever-declining share. At current share loss rates, they should lose around 3 slots by the time the current MST retail contracts are up.

By: Copenhagen Charlie

Copenhagen Charlie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:56:14 +0000

It will all prove out in the numbers. PM just doesn’t care as long as they control share. They thought they knew what they were doing in Georgia but that never worked out with their own name. I wonder whether Marlboro is a tired old brand also as referenced above regarding Cope and Skoal!

By: see store manager

see store manager — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:34:58 +0000

Memo to Altria brass: You dumped the wrong sales force. You should have kept the Usstc force and dumped your “Altria yes men”.