煙草在線據SBWire報道編譯　　奧馳亞集團將進軍英國電子卷煙的利基市場，并將于今年下半年推出其電子卷煙。位于弗吉尼亞州里士滿的這家公司已經發表聲明，確認推出電子卷煙，但并沒有透露具體在哪個市場推出。該公司將于6月提供關于此事的更多細節。

　　在該公司經歷了收入下降5%之后不久，奧馳亞做了這一決定。該公司最暢銷的產品，萬寶路的銷售也下降了同樣的比例。據奧馳亞的首席執行官馬丁·巴林頓（Martin Barrington）先生說，公司將不得不接納這一利基市場的現有公司，就像羅瑞拉德公司和NJOY一樣。羅瑞拉德公司聲稱，美國電子卷煙市場超過40%的份額被其Blu Cigs品牌占領。

　　Stifel金融公司的分析師克里斯托弗·格羅（Christopher Growe）表示，奧馳亞擁有必要的資源、強大的銷售隊伍，并且建立了營銷網絡，這將使它成為電子卷煙市場的重要參與者。

　　彭博行業分析師肯尼思·謝伊（Kenneth Shea）推測說，奧馳亞公司可能會選擇無機增長，并且收購一家現有的制造電子卷煙的公司。截止到3月31日，奧馳亞公司的現金及現金等價物達到37.8億美元，比2012年12月31日的數字多8.8億美元。該公司沒有明確表示它是否會收購電子卷煙市場的一家現有公司，或者它是否將利用其現有品牌的平臺推出電子卷煙。

　　羅瑞拉德公司的估計顯示，在今年的前三個月，人們大約使用了6億支電子卷煙以代替傳統卷煙。這意味著全年消費大約24億支電子卷煙，占到總體卷煙市場的1%。

　　奧馳亞公司也將不得不考慮美國食品及藥品管理局正在考慮的關于電子卷煙的監管問題。

　　除了奧馳亞，其他電子卷煙制造商，如格林斯博羅、雷諾，以及羅瑞拉德公司，都面臨著類似的問題。

US: Altria's Foray Into the E-Cigarette Market

　　Altria will foray into the electronic cigarette UK niche market, with its launch of e-cigarettes slated to take place in the second half of this year. The Richmond, Virginia based company has issued a statement confirming the launch but did not disclose the market in which it will launch the e-cigarette. The company will provide further details on the launch in June.

　　Altria's decision came soon after the company experienced a 5 percent decline in its revenues. Sales of Malboro, which is the company's top selling product, also fell by an equal margin. According to Mr Martin Barrington, Altria's Chief Executive Officer, the company will have to take on the established companies in this niche like Lorillard Inc and NJOY. Lorillard Inc. claims that over 40 percent of the market for e-cigarettes in the US has been dominated by its Blu Cigs brands.

　　Analyst Christopher Growe from Stifel Financial Corp. states that Altria has the necessary resources, a robust sales force and an established marketing network which can make it an important participant in the e-cigarette market.

　　Analyst Kenneth Shea working with Bloomberg Industries surmises that Altria may opt for inorganic growth and acquire an existing company producing e-cigarettes. Altria had cash/ cash equivalents amounting to $ 3.78 billion as of March 31 which exceeds the December 31 figure by $0.88 billion. The company did not confirm if it would acquire an existing player in the e-cigarette niche or if it would launch e-cigarettes on the platform of one of its existing brands.

　　Estimates by the company Lorillard show that, for the first three months of the year, around 600 million e-cigarettes were used instead of tobacco cigarettes. This represents an annual figure of 2.4 billion cigarettes comprising 1 percent of the total cigarette market.

　　Altria will also have to incorporate the new rules that are being considered in the US by its Food and Drugs Administration, for the regulation of e-cigarettes.

　　Besides Altria, other manufacturers of electronic cigarettes like Greensboro, Reynolds and Lorillard have also been having similar problems. Enditem