Illicit Trade Strategies & Prevention:
Combating Smuggling
The illicit trade in cigarettes is estimated to represent approximately 600 billion units or 10% of global consumption. From left to right, Erwan Fradet, Manager Technology Center Codentify, Klaus Berg, Manager, Illicit Trade Strategies & Prevention France and Nordics, and Christian Swan, Illicit Trade Strategies & Prevention Manager Regulatory Policies, are part of a dedicated team charged with defining and implementing strategies to defend the company's business against the harm caused by the illicit trade in tobacco products.
France:
Market Leadership
Thanks to the combined efforts of employees such as, from left to right, Louis Le Goff, Supervisor Legal Age Meeting Point Engagement, and Caroline Missika, Manager Fiscal Affairs, we are the market leader in France with a 2012 share of 39.6%. Our leadership position was driven, in part, by the growing share of our Philip Morris brand, our fifth-largest international brand by volume. France is the largest market in Europe for the Philip Morris brand and the third largest worldwide after Argentina and Japan.
Poland:
Meeting Consumer Preferences
With a share of more than 17% of the total market, up by more than two points in 2012, Poland has a long-established super-slims segment, the largest in the European Union. Meeting this type of adult consumer preference is just one of the reasons why our team including, from left to right, Anna Leśniak, Manager Regional Sales, Magdalena Saternus-Batóg, Counsel, Agnieszka Wyszynska-Szulc, Manager Corporate Affairs EU, and Jacek Lewandowski, Manager Duty Free, regularly brings different product formats to market. One such example is Marlboro Mint Stream, which was introduced in April 2012, contributing to our overall leadership share of 36.4% by the end of the year, up by 1.1 points versus 2011.
Spain:
Rising to the Challenge
Spain felt the economic crisis in Europe more acutely than most other countries last year. Thanks to the dedication of employees such as, from left to right, Enrique Luna, Supervisor Duty Free, Serena Prados, Manager Corporate Affairs, and Mario Corredor, Manager Information Services – Marketing & Sales Systems, our business remains resilient, supported by a strong portfolio of brands, including Chesterfield, which grew its national share by 0.6 points to 9.0% in 2012.
Research & Development:
Reshaping the Industry
Our primary R&D challenge is to deliver a world-class portfolio of innovative Next Generation Products supported by robust scientific evidence of their potential to reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases in comparison to conventional cigarettes. Employees in our principal R&D center in Switzerland such as, from left to right, Eva Garcia Fidalgo, Manager Analytical Laboratories, Julia Hoeng, Manager Computational Disease Biology, and Sharon Carty Vogel, Manager Quality Assurance, are dedicated to realizing this ambition.
Germany:
Developing World-Class Talent
We are the leader in Germany with a 2012 market share of 35.8%. Thanks to the efforts of our employees and the introduction of a new marketing campaign, Marlboro, the leading brand in the market, achieved a share of 21.3% in 2012. The team’s success reflects, in part, our strategy of providing our employees around the world with overseas assignments and cross-functional moves that develop their managerial skills and leadership abilities. For example, from left to right, Nina Meistes, Area Sales Manager North, was previously a brand manager in our Mexican affiliate; André Sorge, Senior Brand Manager Chesterfield & Other Portfolio Brands, joined us as a sales trainee; Oya Onat, Brand Manager Marlboro, began her career with us in Turkey; Gerben Hilhorst, Project Manager, started as a finance trainee in our factory in the Netherlands; and, prior to his current role, Tammo Koerner, National Manager Vending & Tobacco Wholesale, completed an assignment in our business planning function.
The Netherlands:
Efficiency and Safety
From left to right, Fleur Schouten, Material Planner, Muslum Cuman, Senior Operator, Winnie Man, Supervisor Costing, Vivianne Haest, Supervisor Life Cycle Management Primary, and Esther Saris, Process Supervisor, are among our more than 1,400 employees who work in Bergen op Zoom (BoZ), one of our largest manufacturing facilities. With machines that operate at up to 16,000 cigarettes per minute, BoZ exports over 90% of the more than 250 brand variants it produces, primarily to France, Italy and Japan. BoZ is just one of our 53 production centers where a culture of – and commitment to – manufacturing safety drove an impressive reduction in our global lost-time injury rate of 45% in 2012 compared to our 2010 baseline.
Marlboro:
"Don't Be A Maybe"
For decades, the brand image of Marlboro was built upon the famous cowboy campaign. We recognized that Marlboro needed a new communications platform for today’s world. We developed the new “Don’t Be A Maybe – Be Marlboro” campaign, which was initially implemented in Germany and rolled out to approximately 20 markets in 2012. With the new campaign, Marlboro encourages adult smokers to be decisive, trust themselves and follow their inspiration. Marlboro does not believe in “Maybes.” The campaign is proving successful and contributed to the market share growth of our flagship brand in 2012.
