How the Overfill Scandal has Affected Their Business as Described by the E-Cigarette Distributors

A square business area with e-cigarette distributors, source: 2FIRSTS

Jason Tian - In the e-cigarette circle, Manchester City is known to be the place for the distribution of e-cigarettes. 2FIRSTS London had a chance to enter one such distribution center to converse with the employees and owners of e-cigarette distributors to see how the news of overfilled e-cigarettes has affected their business and by their eyes a view on how the consumer market has taken the news. Each distributor has a different take on how the news has affected their business as well as the future of disposable e-cigarette brands.

A square business area with e-cigarette distributors, source: 2FIRSTS

The first distributor tells 2FIRSTS correspondent that the news of ELFBAR overfilling the limit of the legal volume of e-liquids did have some effect on their business. When asked what is the attitudes of his clients, “A lot of the retailers are now scared. They don’t want to buy it, but there are smaller ones who will buy it. But the professional retail outlets, they don’t want to mess around.” His take on how ELFBAR rose to its position was because the brands have contracts with multinational retailers “so they’ll only buy ELF.” This distributor’s strategy to overcome the slowing of ELFBAR sales of his clients was to promote the SKE Crystal Bar: “We supply anything that’s moving fast. So right now we push crystal and it moves, and ELF is kind of slowing down. I reckon another six months they could be in trouble.”

The second distributor tells a different story and tells our 2FIRSTS correspondent that “It’s still selling on the same level.” He thinks the reason he is largely unaffected is “because the customer still wants it at the end of the day” His stocks of several brands have all largely remained at the same volume as before the news of popular disposable e-cigarettes being overfilled. “They all sell on the same level, even Lost Mary or Crystal.”

Interestingly the third distributor shows an entirely different scenario. “They are selling like crazy.” When asked the reason why, he describes that all the major retail grocers have taken it off their shelves but the demand is still there. There is still nothing in the market that can really replace ELFBAR in these major retailers, so “the customers take their money to the small independent store. The most popular 2 flavors, no one has stock it is always sold out. We have to buy from other distributors to give our customers.” The third distributor mainly sells to independent retailers, but his story directly contradicts the first distributor. The first distributor even opposed the idea that the customers will go to independent stores just to buy ELFBARS: “They can’t be asked with the hassle. Wherever they find something they’ll like. I am in check out, waiting now. I won’t go to a local shop to buy whatever.”

The third distributor added that there is another risk to their distribution business that may affect his business more than the overfilling e-liquid news. “The government wants to shut this whole place down. This place is famous for counterfeits and you see all those shut doors? They were closed by the government.” This particular area in Manchester city where e-cigarette distributors are located was infamous as a marketplace for counterfeit products of clothes, electronics, and more. It has been a mission for the local authorities to shut down these illegal businesses, but because of the location they are at the third distributor thinks that it may affect their business if they were to ever want to shift their eyes to e-cigarettes once they have cleaned out the other businesses.

Rows of closed shops and businesses, source: 2FIRSTS

Police presence in Manchester, source: 2FIRSTS

Unarguably, the market did shift when large grocers have taken down non-compliant vapes from their shelves. The market for these products, however, will not subside. Only time will tell how the market of brands will take shape.