KT&G focusing on US market

By Lee Hyo-sik

KT&G is seeking to boost its presence in the U.S. by expanding distribution channels and introducing more cigarette products tailored to American consumers.

Korea’s largest tobacco company said Wednesday that it will soon move its U.S. headquarters from Oklahoma City to Dallas to use its larger presence in Texas as a springboard for increasing business in other states.

The company has been expending substantial resources over the years to increase its reach mainly in the Middle East and the Central Asia. But now it wants to increase sales of its products in the world’s third-largest cigarette market.

“We had a hard time when we first made inroads into the U.S. market because we had to obtain approval from all 50 states,” a KT&G official said. “But thanks to our extensive market research and a competitive product lineup, we now offer a dozen brands in 45 states.”

The company, which entered the U.S. market in 1999, sold a total of 2.82 billion cigarettes there last year. Currently, about 100 tobacco firms are fiercely competing in the United States and KT&G is the sixth-largest in terms of sales.

“We are the third-largest cigarette brand in Texas, so we would like to use our strength in the Lone Star State to expand our business across the country,” the official said. “In addition to supermarkets and other small retailers, we will do business with more airport duty free shops and large discount stores.”

Among a dozen KT&G products available in the United States, Time is the most popular, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the firm’s U.S. sales.

Besides actively promoting Time, KT&G will develop and introduce new cigarettes that better suit the tastes of American consumers, he said.