Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) (TSE:2914), announces today that it will expand the sales area of the Ploom TECH starter kit1 and tobacco capsules to five prefectures: Kanagawa2, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka2 and Fukuoka2 from March 19, 2018. In addition to tobacco stores, the products will also be sold in convenience stores in the same prefectures as well as four cities: Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya and Hiroshima, from April 16, 2018.
JT has been selling Ploom TECH in a number of shops in Fukuoka city and online since March, 2016, and has been gradually expanding its sales area. The tobacco capsules have been available in convenience stores in Tokyo since November, 2017, and their off-take share of market has reached 3.3%3.
Both the starter kit and tobacco capsules will be sold gradually in nearly 550 tobacco stores4 in the Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures from March 19, 2018. From April 16, 2018, the sales area will gradually expand to nearly 19,000 other shops, mainly convenience stores, in the five new prefectures as well as in the cities of Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya and Hiroshima. […]
1 Ploom TECH starter kit is composed of a battery, USB charger, AC adapter and carry case.
2 Ploom TECH is already available in certain tobacco stores in Yokohama city, Osaka city and Fukuoka city.
3 JT estimate as of fourth week of January 2018 based on convenience stores’ tobacco products sales in Tokyo
4 The number of new stores to sell the products is nearly 430.