British American Tobacco is to roll out its own tobacco heating device in mid-August to compete in the Korean market, where demand for such devices is increasing.
BAT Korea will hold a press conference Thursday to promote its own heat-not-burn tobacco device Glo, and disclose when the device will be on sale here, company officials said Sunday.
(British American Tobacco Korea)
The company is hoping to boost sales by filling the increasing local demand, which Philip Morris International’s heat-not-burn device IQOS could not fully meet.
Philip Morris International took a preemptive step into the Korean market by launching IQOS in early June but could not keep up with demand, largely due to constraints of cigarette-shaped tobacco refill imports from Italy.
Having recently completed the construction of new plants in Sacheon South Gyeongsang Province, BAT Korea expects to gain an upper hand in sustainable product supply. The non-burning tobacco produced there, called Neosticks, are currently being exported to Japan but will soon be circulated domestically as well, officials said.
Also, the price of the Glo will be slightly lower than that of the IQOS, according to market observers. The IQOS is currently priced at around 120,000 won ($106) in Korea.
The Glo is expected to appeal to the customers who prefer to smoke several times in a row. With a single charge, the device lasts more than 30 sessions based on back-to-back usage, whereas users of the IQOS have to recharge it after every session.
Meanwhile, Korean tobacco manufacturer KT&G is also to roll out its own non-burning tobacco device as popularity of such devices grows.
By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)
