Much like CEOs in the auto industry, tobacco executives are confronting digital disruption with a mix of strategies that involve either acquiring smaller, innovative competitors or developing new products in-house.
New York-based Phillip Morris has responded to the challenge by developing a smokeless product, which it launched in the UK this morning following a previous release in Japan.
Unlike e-cigarettes, which heat a nicotine-infused liquid, Phillips Morris’ iQOS heats raw tobacco enough to produce a vapor without burning it. The lack of combustion reduces the amount of toxins produced by 90%, the company claims.
“I believe there will come a…time where…we have sufficient adoption of these alternative products to start envisaging, together with governments, a phase-out period for cigarettes,” Phillip Morris CEO Andre Calantzopoulos told the BBC in a radio interview. “I hope this time will come soon.”
The iQOS comprises a small battery pack, retailing in the UK for £45 ($56), that resembles an early-model cell phone. It charges a plastic cigarette holder than can be loaded with tobacco sticks, which cost £8 for a pack of 20.
British American Tobacco, meanwhile, has taken a slightly different approach. In 2013, it became the first big tobacco company to launch its own e-cigarette best products, Vype, and recently acquired smaller e-cigarette competitors, including British-based Ten Motives and Poland-based Chic Group. It has just started testing a tobacco-heating product to rival iQOS, called iFuse.
“As we always said, we are enthusiastic about the opportunity in next generation products, and believe that all three categories—vapor, tobacco heating products and licensed medicinal products—offer great potential,” CEO Nicandro Durante said in July.
Still, he said traditional cigarettes will still make up the bulk of the company’s business for many years to come. Indeed, Calantzopoulos this morning cited a World Health Organization prediction that more than a billion people will still be smoking traditional cigarettes worldwide in 2025.
About 10% of 9,766 American adults surveyed in May used e-cigarettes, according to a poll by Reuters and Ipsos. The percentage was unchanged from a year earlier as people continued to question the devices’ safety.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
