Imperial Tobacco Group

Imperial Tobacco Group  is the fourth largest tobacco manufacturer and second largest UK-based tobacco company. Imperial was founded in 1901 when 13 British tobacco and cigarette companies joined together comprising a conglomerate named W.D & H.O Wills of Bristol.

In 1902 Imperial Tobacco and American Tobacco Company joined forces creating British American Tobacco (BAT). The parent companies agreed not to trade on each other's domestic territory, assigned trademarks and export businesses to the joint venture. In 1911, however, the American Tobacco Company sold its share in BAT while the Imperial Tobacco held on to its part till 1980.

Besides tobacco business, Imperial is a very diversified company owning chain of restaurants, brewery, People's drugstore, etc. But recently the company decided to focus on its core tobacco business so all other unrelated subsidiaries were divested. Now Imperial Tobacco is an independent tobacco manufacturer listed on the UK stock exchange.

In 2003 Imperial Tobacco purchased the Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH of Germany (then the fourth largest tobacco company) adding such brands as Davidoff, Peter Sluyvesant and West to its list of products. In 2008 Imperial acquired Atladis (then the fifth largest tobacco company) with its brands Gauloises Blondes and Gitanes.

Inovative Product Development

Phillip Morris product development is about understanding — and responding to — adult smoker preferences. The process begins with focused market research that results in a rigorous assessment of the challenges faced by our brands and the most consumer-relevant solutions. This insight then drives the development of innovative product concepts.

One such concept addresses a growing adult smoker preference to personally adapt, adjust or change the product when desired. In turn, this has translated into the commercialization of a new hybrid product: a regular cigarette that converts into a menthol product when the capsule within its filter is crushed by the smoker.

The most innovative addition to our portfolio in recent years, the hybrid concept was successfully introduced for the first time in 2011 with the launch of Marlboro Beyond, highlighted later in this Report, in selected markets in our European Union Region, and L&M Forward in Finland and Poland. These brand variants now complement our existing menthol-to-menthol capsule brands, such as Marlboro Ice Blast, which are enjoying considerable success in Asia and Latin America.