TOBACCO Cigarettes + Cigars + Smokeless + E-Cigs + Other OTP
Changing the Scene VUSE and MarkTen stake their claims nationally in the e-vapor category By Melissa Kress
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n the summer of 2013, subsidiaries of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and The Altria Group Inc. entered the electronic cigarette arena, completing the trifecta of Big Tobacco throwing their hats into the e-vapor category ring. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. unveiled its digital vapor cigarette, VUSE, at a launch party in New York in early June 2013, one month before introducing the product to Colorado stores. VUSE entered its second market, Utah, several months later. In August 2013, tobacco retailers in Indiana began selling Nu Mark LLC’s MarkTen. Nu Mark is a subsidiary of Altria. The e-vapor product then hit store shelves in Arizona that October. Fast forward to this past summer and both VUSE and MarkTen began their national rollouts. To date, the products are still making their way across the country.
R.J. Reynolds’ VUSE digital vapor cigarette is available in 70,000 retail outlets nationwide.
64 Convenience Store News | DECEMBER 2014 | WWW.CSNEWS.COM
North Salt Lake City, Utah-based Maverik Inc. has had a front-row seat to the action. Maverik operates more than 250 convenience stores in 10 western states, including Colorado and Utah. Today, all Maverik stores carry VUSE and MarkTen — MarkTen hit its shelves in early June and VUSE arrived later that month portfolio-wide, said Jeff Arnold, category manager. Maverik also was a test market for both products in certain states. VUSE is doing well in the stores. In fact, it is Maverik’s leading brand for its electronic cigarette and vaping category. “It took off immediately in our stores,” Arnold said. MarkTen started off strong. However, it is now struggling with supply, according to Arnold. He noted that Maverik has had an issue with out-of-code product and its wholesaler was not able to supply MarkTen at the time he spoke to Convenience Store News in early November. “Their share and volume has dropped considerably,” Arnold reported. Brian May, senior manager of communications for The Altria Group, acknowledged that Nu Mark has received some retailer feedback about shelf life. The company is working to address their concerns and making good progress, he said. “E-vapor is a new and rapidly evolving category and we’re continuing to learn about supply chain and inventory management in this space,” he noted. As of late October, VUSE and MarkTen were not available in every convenience store, as was the case at Tedeschi Food Shops. Stephen Monaco, director of category management for the Rockland, Mass.-based chain, said its stores would be carrying the products in the next few weeks and he “anticipated e-cigarettes category growth as a result of offering” both. “The category has leveled off the last few