According to wholesalers in the Seoul area, at the beginning of this year, the two long-time rivals in the Korean heated tobacco market, KT&G and Philip Morris Korea, experienced a shift in the Seoul area market, with Philip Morris' IQOS series products overtaking KT&G's Lil series in market share.
So far, the new product "IQOS Illuma" of the PMI Korean company has only been sold in a few cities such as Seoul, so the market share in Seoul is a "barometer" of the market after the nationwide launch.
2FIRSTS has drawn a comparison of the market share of KT&G's exclusive heating sticks "Mix", "Fit" and "Aim" in January with that of Philip Morris Korea's exclusive heating sticks "Heets" and "Teria" in the same period, based on the sales of five Seoul-based chain convenience stores in January.
KT&G's market share has declined significantly from 48.5% in the third quarter of 2022, indicating that the company's dominant position in the heated tobacco market is fading.
Data shows that the exclusive capsule "TERIA" of "IQOS ILUMA" increased its share from 16.4% in the first week of January to 18.8% in the fourth week, while the exclusive capsule "Aim" of "Lil Aible" had an average share of only 2.4% in the same period.
Finally, KT&G's market share is not driven by new products, but by existing Lil Hybrid 2.0 and Lil Solid 2.0 dedicated heating tobacco sticks. The average market share of "Mix" in January was 29.3%, and "Fit" was 10.5%. On February 14, 2023, British American Tobacco (BAT) is expected to launch a new Glo heated tobacco product in Korea. It is expected that KT&G's market share will be further diluted.
KT&G became the largest heated tobacco manufacturer in South Korea for the first time in the third quarter of 2022, but whether KT&G can maintain its throne in the future will depend on the nationwide sales of IQOS Illuma and Glo.
Reference:
[1] [단독] 아이코스, 서울지역서 전자담배 1위 탈환… KT&G 앞질러
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