Chennai, May 27 Godfrey Phillips, a K. K. Modi Group and Philip Morris joint venture Marlboro Lights, and the second largest player in the domestic cigarette industry after ITC, is set to go national very soon.
The company, which was not selling its products in the South, except for a small presence in Andhra Pradesh Tobacco Shop, today launched its Four Square brand of cigarettes in the Tamil Nadu market.
According to Ms Nita Kapoor, Executive Vice-President (Marketing and Corporate Affairs), Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, Tamil Nadu, is the second largest cigarette market after Andhra Pradesh, a strategically critical market to grow
She said the State consumes 840 million sticks a month, which is close to 10 per cent of the 8 Buy Cigarettes Online.5-billion-sticks-a-month all-India market. Andhra Pradesh accounts for 14 per cent of the market.
Currently, ITC is the biggest player in Tamil Nadu with almost 99 per cent market share. are targeting 5 per cent share of this market in the first year, said Ms Kapoor.
The company reported Rs 1,825 crore turnover and Rs 170 crore profits for 2007-08. With the proposed retail expansion, it is aiming to push the turnover beyond Rs 2,200 crore in the next financial year.
Nationally, Godfrey Phillips enjoys 12.5 per cent market share in terms of volume and 11 per cent share in value Newport Cigarettes.
To meet the likely demand, Godfrey Phillips is setting up a 1.5-billion-sticks-a-month facility near Mumbai at an investment of Rs 200 crore Tobacco Store. It currently has two facilities in Ghaziabad and in Mumbai.
Besides, it also plans to expand its bidi portfolio in the next few months Marlboro Cigarettes. The company currently sells its Sona brand of bidis in Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat. also plan to foray into some chewing products in the months to come, said Ms Kapoor.
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