why Tobacco Companies did not get into this game?

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TropicalBob

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This has been much discussed: Basically, tobacco companies will support products that use tobacco, like snus or dissolvable pellets. They do not make electronic equipment. They do not extract nicotine. They will not buy a Chinese product to resell as a Philip Morris. If e-smoking becomes a problem, they'll simply call for a level playing field by taxing the crap out of e-liquid.
 

leaford

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You may be right, Bob, lord knows history has planty of similar examples. But I still think they'd be both shooting themselves in the foot, and missing a golden opportunity.

What we need to do is kidnap, um I mean arrange a meeting with, a Big Tobacco executive and sell him/her on e-cigs. BT could Buy out the patents, finance all the necessary clinical trials, grease the lobbying wheels, and get these in every 7-11 in the world!!! E-Cigs would be unstoppable!!!

BWA-HA-HA-HAAA!

Oh, um, sorry. Got a Bit carried away, there. :blush:
 
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edisme518123

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You may be right, Bob, lord knows history has planty of similar examples. But I still think they'd be both shooting themselves in the foot, and missing a golden opportunity.

What we need to do is kidnap, um I mean arrange a meeting with, a Big Tobacco executive and sell him/her on e-cigs. BT could Buy out the patents, finance all the necessary clinical trials, grease the lobbying wheels, and get these in every 7-11 in the world!!! E-Cigs would be unstoppable!!!

BWA-HA-HA-HAAA!

Oh, um, sorry. Got a Bit carried away, there. :blush:

The only problem with this is most 7-11's make about 70-80% of their profits from the sale of tobacco products. E-cigs are generally much cheaper to maintain than buying cigs or smokeless tobacco and wouldn't create much profit for the store when compared to current tobacco sales.

So... unless there was some remarkable world-wide revolution, it just wouldn't be economical.

(I'm currently an asst manager at a 7-11 in Florida, US and have asked the store operator about the possibility of carrying them).

Keep in mind that most packs of cigarettes (at least around here) sell at or above the $4 range with about 20-30% of that being profit. Multiply that by approximately 3000 packs of cigarettes sold weekly (in our store) and it's quite a large sum of money compared to the rest of the merchandise which sells at a measly 2-4% profit, with the exception of 7-11 brand merchandise which typically sells at around 8-12% profit.
 

edisme518123

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OK fine, Mr 7-11 smarty pants, we'll forget the 7-11 and sell them at Kwicky Mart instead!!

Wait, something's wrong with that plan, but what... ?

I think all we're missing is the Duff beer and those pink sprinkle donuts...

Sorry, didn't mean to be a buzz kill before... just wanted to show a possible deterrent to that goal for review.
 

dc2k08

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The only problem with this is most 7-11's make about 70-80% of their profits from the sale of tobacco products

Keep in mind that most packs of cigarettes (at least around here) sell at or above the $4 range with about 20-30% of that being profit.

I had no idea, that this was the case. 70% of all the profit made at 711 comes from the sale of cigarettes? and 30% of a pack's price goes to the retailer? is this really true?
 

Salam

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and missing a golden opportunity.

W :blush:

that is exactly what i meant... in fact the benefit will be for both the producer and the customer. where we (e-smoker) will benefit from having the best technology and Quality.
thanx leaford
Regard

Note: pls Do not forget to inform me if you are going to meet with them>:D
 

Kroll

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I wish they were able to sell carts and e-liquid in shops, it would mean no more of this predicting when you are going to run out and over-buying as a result.

The mark up on cigs here in the uk is very small, if you are only buying cigs in most small shops with a credit or debit card, they will usually add on a $1 fee to cover the processing- it's about $1 profit they make on em.

To put it in perspective, a pack of cigs here is about $11!
 

bribri

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Wow Im hearing a lot of odd stuff coming out of this forums usually very sane group of loyal visitors come. THESE COMPANIES ARE WHAT? Oh Yeah, TOBACCO COMPANIES. What product is not in our e-cigarette? OH YEAh TOBACCO. What does all of there products that were cigarette alternatives have in them? TOBACCO STILL. This is not for them. Like asking a tire company why they invented but decided not to produce the everlasting tire? Its quite logical...
 

edisme518123

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Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but your average 7-11 gets 70-80% of the store's total profit from cigarettes. You're also forgetting one thing... 7-11 being such a small store, cannot afford to order in bulk like Walmart does. So, although the total markup of an item may be very high when compared to it's production cost, the store's cost to stock that item is also very high. This is why the profit margin on most stocked items is very small. And yes, the profit margin for cigarettes is 20-30%. Here, a pack of Marlboro red regular cigarettes costs $4.35 after tax. So, roughly 28 cents of that is state tax (6.5%). The government tax comes out to around 70 cents. So there's already 98 cents tacked onto the cost of 1 pack of cigarettes. Then, the profit margin on these particular cigarettes happens to be 28%. So the profit earned by the store is roughly 94 cents. This leaves the store's cost to carry the pack as $2.43.

I know our store generates anywhere between $8000-$9000 profit per month on cigarettes. All of the other categories combined don't even come close to that much. The second highest profit producer is 7-11 branded merchandise. "Fresh foods" i.e. the sandwiches, salads, and other 7-11 brand cold-kept food comes in at the second highest profit producer in our store at roughly $2000-$3000 monthly. After that, coffee produces roughly $1000-$2000 profit. Slurpees and soda produce slightly less profit, mainly because the upkeep cost is quite high.

I find it absolutely amazing how much money goes to cigarettes in our store. I look at it as a little micro-economy. My store services a small part of Ormond Beach, consisting of maybe 100,000 people if you include non-residents. You can only imagine the numbers that the whole city is producing, let alone the state or the country... and cigarettes are relatively cheap here when compared to most other places.
 

leaford

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More like asking why the wagon wheel industry didn't get into producing Auto tires. Or why typewriter manufacturers didn't re-tool and make keyboards.

Cigs will be banned eventually. The writing is on the wall So is the clock, and it's ticking.

Snus and dissolvable tobacco are the only alternatives BT is looking at, but they're too different to attract most smokers. Smokers want to smoke. If BT gambles their post-ciggie futures on them exclusively, they will fail. E-cigs would be a much more attractive alternative for most smokers, which is why we're all here, and would be much more profitable to BT, and more likely to keep them afloat.

On our side, if e-cigs are to succeed in going mass market, they will need some big backing. Like I said, studies, lobbying, etc. Plus, we'd need LOTS of tobacco to get the nicotine from if any sizable number of smokers switch , and BT's got that sewn up. Then there's BT's marketing resources and distribution networks.

Sure, Bob's probably right, and all they'll see e-cigs as will be as competition.

But like TV execs fighting VCR's, or the RMAA fighting MP3's, it'll be a losing strategy and a lost opportunity.
Unfortunately, unlike those examples, e-cigs are vulnerable and could get wiped out, then everybody loses, including BT.
 

SmokingInTexas

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I think what will actually HELP e-smoking is the stupid simplicity of the e-cig. It's a battery, and a little heater coil, and some juice. As many have proven (via this forum), it isn;t hard to modify/improve one, and I'm sure if a few people put their minds to it, they could produce one from scratch.

I suspect it would be pretty hard to control/regulate something that someone can whip up in their garage in a few hours using simple parts. Of course, since when has common sense factored into ANYTHING the US Government does?

Although I honestly don't partake, look how much effect making marijuana illegal has had. As we all know, now that it's illegal, no one has any, or smoke it anymore. Right? And I think in the future, it will eventually become legal, simply because they can't stop people from using. (Again, I don't use marijuana and do NOT want to get in a discussion about it, just an easy example).

But Bob is right, it will be an ugly long drawn-out battle, that the end-users will eventually win, but there's money to be made in fighting it. :(

Anyway, One Mans Opinion.
 
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