[Intl-tobacco] Kenya: BAT targets lower end of the market (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

BAT targets lower end of the market

by NATION Correspondent
Source: Daily Nation, Tuesday, 7/4/00

A new cigarette brand was introduced into the market yesterday.

The Safari King Size Filter by the British American Tobacco (K) Ltd is a
medium tar cigarette that targets consumers at the lower end of the
market, according head of marketing Joe Muganda.

Mr Muganda said at the launch in Nairobi that the brand, the latest in the
Sh7-billion-a-year industry =96 would retail at Sh28 per packet and Sh1.40
per stick.

He told the launch that BAT's strategy was demand-driven, adding that "we
are not panicking due to competition."

He said the company recognised that the purchasing power of consumers had
gone down and therefore wanted to provide smokers a "high quality product
at an affordable price."

The launch comes at a time when the tobacco industry is facing a strong
anti-smoking lobby fronted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the tobacco industry prefers a market-based approach based on
choice, WHO and anti-tobacco crusaders advocate for a total ban.