Karelia Tobacco Company

Last updated
Karelia Tobacco Company, Inc.
Type Public incorporated company
Athex:  KARE
Industry Tobacco
Founded1888
Headquarters Kalamata, Greece
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Andreas G. Karelias, (Managing Director)
Products Cigarettes, Fine Cut, Rolling papers, Cigarillos
Revenue 1.035 billion (2019) [1]
108.18 million (2019) [2]
67.4 million (2019) [3]
Total assets 619.48 million (2019) [4]
Total equity 513.01 million (2019) [5]
OwnerIoanna Karelia (31.96%)
Andreas Karelias (21.59%)
Efstathios Karelias (20.94%) [6]
Number of employees
553 (2021) [7]
Subsidiaries Karelia Tobacco Company (U.K.) Ltd.
Karelia Bulgaria EOOD
GK Distributors EOOD
Karelia Tütün ve Ticaret A.S.
Meridian S.A. Duty Free Specialists
Karelia Investment
Karelia Belgium
Website www.karelia.gr

Karelia Tobacco Company Inc. (Karelia) is an international tobacco company headquartered in the city of Kalamata, Greece. It is also the country's largest tobacco manufacturer and exporter of fine tobacco products.

Contents

Karelia brands are sold in more than 65 countries around the globe in Western and Eastern Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Africa. Its brands include George Karelias and Sons, Karelia Slims, Omé, Karelia Family, Karelia Royal, Rex, American Legend and Leader. The Company produces an average of 15 billion cigarettes per year and employs approximately 500 people worldwide.

Karelia has a primary listing on the Athens Stock Exchange (KARE) [8]

History

1888 to 1991

The company's roots date back to 1888, when the first generation of the Karelia family established itself as a small tobacco business in Kalamata, Greece. Its activities were largely regional in the first few decades of its operations, until the political and economic outlook in the country became more stable allowing Karelia to expand the markets for its brands on a nationwide level. From the 1950s until today, numerous Karelia brands have gained popularity resulting in a wide circulation and substantial market share in all of Greece. The corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities have been traditionally located in Kalamata, and since 1971 have been situated in the current premises that were built, totaling an area of 80,000 square meters. The sales and marketing offices are located in the Karelia Building in Athens. The company entered the Athens Stock Exchange in 1976, and was publicly traded under the name Karelia Brothers. That same year, Karelia became the Greek licensed manufacturer for RJ Reynolds (currently Japan Tobacco International), by producing and distributing the brand Winston, and subsequently in 1981, with the Camel brand. Since the early 1990s the group has been transformed from a predominantly Greek company into an international group. In 1991 the company adopted its current name, the Karelia Tobacco Company Inc. In 1994 Karelia established an office in Sofia, Bulgaria. Karelia's wholly owned subsidiary Meridian Duty Free Specialists, a shipchandling company was acquired in 1995 and Karelia Belgium was established. Karelia Investment was established in 1997.

2000 to present

In the year 2000, Karelia ended its cooperation with Japan Tobacco International, in order to concentrate on developing its own trademark brands. In 2003, the company established a subsidiary in the UK called Karelia Tobacco Company (UK) Ltd. for the distribution of its brands in that market. In 2007, the subsidiary in Bulgaria was upgraded to a commercial import company called Karelia Bulgaria EOOD, and then its subsidiary GK Distributors EOOD was established. In 2008, a subsidiary was established in Turkey, called Karelia Tütün ve Tiçaret A.S. In that same year, Karelia acquired the Backwoods cigar brand from Altadis S.A., for the Greek domestic and duty free markets. Today, Karelia Tobacco Company is Greece's largest cigarette manufacturer and exporter. It operates offices all over Greece, and distributes its brands to a sales network covering more than 26,000 points of sale. Its current annual sales turnover is 876 million euros.

Products

The company's brands include:

Cigarettes

Roll Your Own - Hand Rolling Tobacco

Rolling papers

Cigarillos

Operations

Branches

More than 87% of the company's production is directed to international markets, classifying Karelia as one of Greece's largest export businesses. The Company's total output is produced entirely at its facilities in Kalamata. In addition to the headquarters located in Kalamata and its international subsidiaries, Karelia operates two branches in Athens (Megaron Karelia Building) and Thessaloniki.

Executive Management

Victoria G. Karelias, Chairwoman of the Board
Stathis G. Karelias, Vice Chairman of the Board
Andrew G. Karelias, Managing Director

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sponsorships

Karelia has a long history of providing support to organizations and activities in its local community. Many donations help to support schools, municipal health centers including the local hospital, youth organizations, the disabled and art, music and other cultural activities. Karelia has been a longstanding benefactor of initiatives promoting Greek culture and civilization with the specific support of organizations preserving Greek regional & national song, dance and costume.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karpathos</span> Place in Greece

Karpathos, also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the Karpathos regional unit. Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. The island has also been called Carpathus in Latin and Scarpanto in Italian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Frangouli-Argyris</span> Greek author and journalist

Justine Frangouli-Argyris is a Greek author and journalist. She was born on the Greek island of Lefkada, where she completed her primary and secondary education. A graduate of the University of Athens Law School's Political Science department, Frangouli-Argyris has been a contributor to daily newspapers, radio, television and magazines in Greece since 1983.

Giannis Fysekis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ginásio Clube Alcobaça.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freethinkers' Party</span> Political party in Greece

The Freethinkers' Party or Free Opinion Party was a Greek nationalist and monarchist party founded and led by Ioannis Metaxas who was the Prime Minister and dictator of Greece from 1936 to 1941. It was formally founded in November 1922 after the adoption of the party's manifesto that was unveiled on 13 October 1922. Metaxas had the party and all other parties dissolved following the establishment of the 4th of August Regime, in which he ruled as an official independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ILTEX Lykoi F.C.</span> Football club

ILTEX Lykoi was a football club based in Kalochori, Thessaloniki, Greece. The team was owned by the Greek businessman Kostas Iliadis.

{{Infobox football biography | name = Giannis Apostolidis | fullname = Ioannis Apostolidis | birth_date = 14 October 1988 | birth_place = Greece Xanthi | height = 1.83 | currentclub = Doxa Dramas F.C | position = Defender | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Skoda Xanthi F.C. | years1 = 2004–2009 | years2 = 2007–2008 | years3 = 2008–2009 | years4 = 2009–2010 | years5 = 2010–2012 | years6 = 2012–2016 | clubs1 = Skoda Xanthi | clubs2 = → Alexandroupoli Enosi (loan) | clubs3 = → Panetolikos (loan) | clubs4 = Makedonikos | clubs5 = Panachaiki | clubs6 = Anagennisi Giannitsa F.C. | caps1 = | caps2 = 25 | caps3 = 9 | caps4 = 24 | caps5 = 3 | caps6 = 9 | goals1 = | goals2 = 0 | goals3 = 0 | goals4 = 0 | goals5 = 0 | goals6 = 0 | nationalyears1 = | nationalteam1 = | nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 = | managerclubs1 = [[Doxa Dramas |[[Doxa Dramas F.C]] U19]] | managerclubs2 = Doxa Dramas (assistant) | managerclubs3 = Veria FC (assistant) | managerclubs4 = Xanthi FC U20 | managerclubs5 = Doxa Dramas | manageryears1 = 2019-2020 | manageryears2 = 2019-2020 | manageryears3 = 2020-2021 | manageryears4 = 2021-2022 | manageryears5 = 2023- }} Giannis Apostolidis is Assistant Team Manager of Doxa Drama F.C. and a Team Manager of U19. Giannis is a former professional football midfielder who played for Makedonikos F.C. in the Gamma Ethniki. He previously played for Panetolikos in the Greek third division, on loan from Skoda Xanthi F.C.

Thomas Oikonomou was a Greek actor and one of the first modern Greek directors.

CubeHash is a cryptographic hash function submitted to the NIST hash function competition by Daniel J. Bernstein. CubeHash has a 128 byte state, uses wide pipe construction, and is ARX based. Message blocks are XORed into the initial bits of a 128-byte state, which then goes through an r-round bijective transformation between blocks. The initial NIST proposal ("Cubehash8/1") required about 200 cycles per byte. After clarifications from NIST, the author changed the proposal to Cubehash16/32, which "is approximately 16 times faster than CubeHash8/1, easily catching up to both SHA-256 and SHA-512 on the reference platform" while still maintaining a "comfortable security margin".

Antonia, Antónia, Antônia, or Antonía is a feminine given name and a surname. It is of Roman origin, used as the name of women of the Antonius family. Its meaning is "priceless", "praiseworthy" and "beautiful". Antonia is a Danish, Dutch, English, Faroese, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish name used in the United States, most of Canada, the Latin American states, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, part of Serbia, Nordic countries, Greenland, Estonia, Republic of Karelia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leianokladi railway station</span> Railway station in Leianokladi, Greece

Leianokladi railway station is a railway station situated between Lamia and Leianokladi in Phthiotis, Greece. The station opened on 8 March 1904 It is situated at the junction of the main Athens-Thessaloniki line with the branch line to Lamia and Stylida. It is served by intercity trains between Athens and Thessaloniki and by local trains to Stylida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greece at the 1906 Intercalated Games</span> Greece at the Olympics

Greece were the host nation at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece. 312 athletes, 307 men and 5 women, competed in 70 events in 13 sports.

Marios Demetriou is a Cypriot professional football who plays as a right back for Cypriot First Division club Pafos.

Konstantinos Papazoglou is a Greek professional basketball coach. He is currently an assistant coach for Löwen Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He graduated from Aristotelian University's Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences in 2005, majoring in basketball coaching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitra Papadopoulou</span>

Dimitra Papadopoulou is a Greek Cypriot actress, writer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chora, Messinia</span> Place in Greece

Chora is a small town in the western part of Messinia, in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. With a population of 3.454 inhabitants, it is the largest settlement in the municipality of Pylos-Nestoros and the fifth largest settlement in Messinia. Chora is renowned for its long history. It houses an archeological museum and it is located 3 kilometers away from the Palace of Nestor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratis Mastrokyriakos</span> Greek footballer and manager

Stratis Mastrokyriakos is a professional soccer manager - Football coach and former Greek football player, and one of the first Greeks to become a UEFA Pro Licence holder. He was a player for Panegialios FC and the Egio Athletic Association FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kontakaiika</span> Place in Greece

Kontakaiika is a Greek village in the northwestern part of Samos, 5 km from Karlovasi. The village belongs to the municipality of West Samos. According to the 2011 census, the village has 962 inhabitants.

Dimitrios Gkaras is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for A.P.S. Zakynthos. He was born in Veria on March 23,2001 and grew up in Alexandreia Imathia. Also, he studies Philosophy, in University of Ioannina. Before starting his senior career as a footballer, he was a Handball player too.

References

  1. https://www.athexgroup.gr/documents/10180/43442/%CE%9F%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%9D%CE%9F%CE%92%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%91.%CE%95.+%282019%2C%CE%95%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%99%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82%2C%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%29.pdf/773da3df-ecc6-4328-a2d2-60b117bf4a00?version=1.0 [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. https://www.athexgroup.gr/documents/10180/43442/%CE%9F%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%9D%CE%9F%CE%92%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%91.%CE%95.+%282019%2C%CE%95%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%99%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82%2C%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%29.pdf/773da3df-ecc6-4328-a2d2-60b117bf4a00?version=1.0 [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. https://www.athexgroup.gr/documents/10180/43442/%CE%9F%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%9D%CE%9F%CE%92%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%91.%CE%95.+%282019%2C%CE%95%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%99%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82%2C%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%29.pdf/773da3df-ecc6-4328-a2d2-60b117bf4a00?version=1.0 [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. https://www.athexgroup.gr/documents/10180/43442/%CE%9F%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%9D%CE%9F%CE%92%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%91.%CE%95.+%282019%2C%CE%95%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%99%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82%2C%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%29.pdf/773da3df-ecc6-4328-a2d2-60b117bf4a00?version=1.0 [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. https://www.athexgroup.gr/documents/10180/43442/%CE%9F%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%20%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%9D%CE%9F%CE%92%CE%99%CE%9F%CE%9C%CE%97%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91%20%CE%91.%CE%95.+%282019%2C%CE%95%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82%20%CE%99%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82%2C%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-%CE%95%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%29.pdf/773da3df-ecc6-4328-a2d2-60b117bf4a00?version=1.0 [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. "Profile - athexgroup.gr".
  7. https://craft.co/karelia-tobacco-company
  8. "Athens Stock Exchange (KARE)". karelia.gr. Retrieved 2017-11-10.