Japan Tobacco to trim products
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's third-biggest tobacco company, said on Monday it aims to cut the number of cigarette products it sells domestically by about 30 percent to 80, in order to market them more efficiently.
Shares in JT, known for its Camel, Winston, Salem and Mild Seven brands, rose 3.2 percent by midday to 447,000 yen after the Nihon Keizai business daily reported the plan, outperforming a 1.1 percent increase in the broader market.
In Japan, where JT has a two-thirds share, it faces a shrinking market due to increasing health consciousness, an ageing population and a falling birth rate. Cigarette sales volumes are also expected to be hit by a tax rise that went into effect this month.
JT currently sells about 115 products domestically, and it did not give a target date for completing the planned reduction. Under its previous mid-term business plan announced three years ago, the company had said it planned to cut the number of its products in the domestic market to 60.
But last July it introduced 13 products to make up for the termination of its three-decade-old contract with Philip Morris to produce and sell the top tobacco maker's Marlboro brand in Japan.
JT is due to report first-quarter earnings later on Monday.
