JAMIE CARR: Looking at the British American Tobacco track record
With apologies to consumers who may have fallen foul of BAT’s product range, there’s no doubt that it’s a cracking good business
With apologies to consumers who may have fallen foul of BAT’s product range, there’s no doubt that it’s a cracking good business. Clearly there’s a lot to be said for offering a product that is genuinely addictive, keeping its customers loyal in the face of overwhelming evidence of the health impact of whacking back your pack of gaspers a day, and it has produced results that demonstrate its extreme resilience in the face of the pandemic and a number of sales lockdowns.
BAT’s corporate logo, "A Better Tomorrow", may not be much comfort to those who have puffed their way to the oncology ward. But it is a reference to its attempts to build its position in noncombustibles (such as e-cigarettes), which now make up 10% of its revenues. It is targeting 50-million consumers of noncombustibles by 2030, up from 11.6m currently, and is investing an additional £250m in marketing for new categories. 75% of the company’s revenues come from traditional consumption in developed markets, and ...
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