Imperial Tobacco Group plc is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol,
United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by
market share after Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco,
and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers.
Imperial Tobacco produces over 320 billion cigarettes per year, has 51 factories worldwide
and its products are sold in over 160 countries. Its brands include Davidoff, West, Gauloises
Blondes, Montecristo, Golden Virginia, Drum and Rizla.
Imperial Tobacco is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE
100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £24.3 billion as of 23
December 2011, the 19th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock
Exchange. It should be noted that Imperial Tobacco Canada
has no relationship with Imperial Tobacco: it is the Canadian subsidiary of British American
Tobacco.
History 1901 to 2000
The Imperial Tobacco Company was created in 1901 through the amalgamation of thirteen
British tobacco and cigarette companies: W.D. & H.O. Wills of Bristol, John Player & Sons
of Nottingham and 11 other independent family businesses, which were being threatened by
competition from the United States by the American Tobacco Company. First W. D. & H.
O. Wills of Bristol merged with Stephen Mitchell & Son of Glasgow. Subsequently other smaller
companies including Lambert & Butler, William Clarke & Son, Franklyn Davey, Edwards Ringer,
J&F Bell and F&J Smith joined in the amalgamation. The Company's first Chairman was William Henry
Wills of the Wills Company. In 1902 the Imperial Tobacco Company and the
American Tobacco Company agreed to form a joint venture: the British-American Tobacco
Company Ltd. The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other's domestic territory
and to assign trademarks, export businesses and overseas subsidiaries to the joint venture.
It built the Imperial Tobacco Company Building at Mullins, South Carolina between 1908 and
1913. American Tobacco sold its share in 1911 but Imperial maintained an interest in British
American Tobacco until 1980. In 1973 the Imperial Tobacco Company, having become increasingly
diversified by acquisition of restaurant chains, food services and distribution businesses,
changed its name to Imperial Group. In 1910, Imperial Tobacco formed the Imperial
Tobacco Company of India. In 1985, the Company acquired the Peoples
Drugstore chain and all subsidiaries from A. C. Israel. In 1986 the Company was acquired
by the conglomerate Hanson Trust plc for £2.5billion. Divestments during the period of ownership
by Hanson included Courage Brewery to Elders, Golden Wonder to Dalgety, Finlays to A J Patel,
the wholesaling arm of Sinclair & Collis to Palmer & Harvey, Imperial Hotels and Catering
to Trust House Forte and Ross Frozen Foods to United Biscuits. This also led to a dispute
over pension payments to employees, as seen in Imperial Group Pension Trust Ltd v Imperial
Tobacco Ltd. In 1996, following a decision to concentrate on core tobacco activities,
Hanson de-merged Imperial and it was listed as an independent company on the UK stock
exchange. 2000 to present
In 2003 Imperial acquired the world's then fourth largest tobacco company, Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken
GmbH of Germany: the deal added brands such as Davidoff, Peter Stuyvesant and West to
its portfolio. In 2007 Imperial Tobacco entered the United States tobacco market with its
$1.9 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Brands Inc, then the fourth largest tobacco
company in the US. In February 2008, Imperial acquired the world's then fifth largest tobacco
company Altadis whose brands included Fortuna, Gauloises Blondes and Gitanes. Imperial's
U.S. subsidiary is called Commonwealth-Altadis. Following the Scottish Parliament's decision
in January 2010 to ban the display of tobacco products in shops as well as the availability
of tobacco vending machines in public buildings with effect from autumn 2011, Imperial Tobacco
attempted to challenge the change in the law on the grounds that regulations of the sale
goods rested with the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. However, this case was dismissed
on 30 September 2010 by Lord Bracadale at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
In 2013, Imperial opened a new global headquarters in Bristol.
On 15 July 2014, Reynolds American agreed to buy Lorillard Tobacco Company, for $27.4
billion. The deal also included the sale of the Kool, Winston, Salem, and blu brands to
Imperial for $7.1 billion. Once the deal is completed, Imperial said on 22 October 2014,
the current Lorillard headquarters will be used by a new company whose name has yet to
be determined. In addition to Lorillard employees, the headquarters will include people being
relocated from Commonwealth-Altadis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Commonwealth-Altadis
also has the former American Tobacco plant in Reidsville, North Carolina, which makes
discount cigarettes. Products
Imperial Tobacco brands include: Cigarettes
All JTI products in Australia – Camel, More, Mevius, etc.
Ducados Brandon's
Carlton Crowns
Davidoff Embassy
Escort Excellence
Fortuna Gauloises
Gitanes John Player & Sons
John Player Special Lambert & Butler
Mark Fernyhough cigarettes Moon
Parker & Simpson Peter Jackson
Peter Stuyvesant Prima
R1 Regal
Richmond Rodeo
Route 66 Royale
Superkings West
USA Gold
Other Bali Shag premium fine-cut tobacco
Drum fine-cut tobacco Golden Virginia fine-cut tobacco
Players Gold Leaf fine-cut tobacco RizLa+ rolling paper
Skruf Snus Van Nelle fine-cut tobacco
Operations The Nottingham factory employs about 540 people
and will produce 17 billion cigarettes in 2014, although it has the capacity to produce
36 billion. The Nottngham factory, and the group's French factory in Nantes are scheduled
to close in 2016, with production moved to Eastern Europe.
Senior management Imperial Tobacco's Operating Executive currently
comprises the following people: Alison Cooper – Chief Executive
Robert Dyrbus – Group Finance Director Helen Clatworthy – Group Supply Chain Director
Fernando Domínguez – Premium Cigar Director Roberto Funari – Group Marketing Director
Matthew Phillips – Group Corporate & Legal Affairs Director
Walter Prinz – Group Manufacturing, Research & Development Director
Kathryn Turner – Group Human Resources Director Arthur van Benthem – Group Sales Director
References
External links Official website
Yahoo profile