Japan Tobacco International

Last updated

JT International SA
Company typesubsidiary
Industry Tobacco
Founded1999
Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland
Key people
Eddy Pirard President and CEO Koji Shimayoshi Deputy CEO and Executive Vice President Business Development and Corporate Strategy
Products Cigarettes, vaping products, roll-your-own tobacco, snus, pipe tobacco, cigars [1]
Owner Japan Tobacco (Government of Japan)
Number of employees
45,000 (2019) [2]
Website www.jti.com

JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco, [3] a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. The holding company is JT International SA and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and sells its brands in 120 countries.

Contents

As of 2018, JTI employed around 40,000 people around the world at 400 offices, 27 factories, five research and development centers, and five tobacco-processing facilities. [4]

Eddy Pirard is the president and CEO, and Koji Shimayoshi is the deputy CEO and executive vice president for business development and corporate strategy. [5]

History

JTI was formed in 1999, when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased the international tobacco operations of the US multinational R.J. Reynolds for $ 7.8 billion.

In 2007, Gallaher Group, a FTSE 100 business, was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc. for GBP 9.4 billion. At the time, this was the largest foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.

In 2009, the JT Group acquired part of the worldwide business of Tribac Leaf Limited (a company that trades tobacco in Africa), as well as two Brazilian companies active in the tobacco business, Kannenberg and KBH&C. In the same year, the JT Group also set up JTI Leaf Services, a joint venture with two leaf suppliers in the US – Hail & Cotton Inc. and JEB International. [6]

In 2022, the company's revenue in Russia amounted to 431 billion rubles. [7]

In 2024, Japan Tobacco International was named by Top Employers Institute as a top employer in the Philippines for the third year in a row. [8]

Canadian class action lawsuit

The three largest Canadian tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-Macdonald Corp, and Rothmans Benson & Hedges, are the subject of the largest class-action lawsuit in Canadian history. The case started 12 March 2012 in Quebec Superior Court, and the companies face a potential payout of C$27 billion (US$20.18 billion) in damages and penalties. In addition, a number of Canadian provinces are teaming up to sue tobacco companies to recover healthcare costs caused by smoking. [9]

On 1 June 2015, Québec Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan awarded more than $15 billion to Quebec smokers in a landmark case that pitted them against three Canadian cigarette giants, including JTI-Macdonald Corp. [10] [11] JTI was ordered to pay 13% of the total, or C$2bn. The company stated, "JTI-Macdonald Corp. fundamentally disagrees with today’s judgment and intends to file an appeal [...] The company strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the court’s conclusions." The plaintiffs in the court case stated that even if an appeal were lodged, the companies were required to pay C$1bn within 60 days. [12]

Patron of the University of Latvia

Japan Tobacco International is a silver patron of the University of Latvia Foundation. It has supported the university since 2010 by donating to long-term projects of the University of Latvia Senior Association. [13]

Brands

Flagship brands

These brands account for 72% of JTI's sales: [14]

Other tobacco products

Other brands

JTI also has a portfolio of cigarette brands that the company markets regionally, including Export in Canada.

Related Research Articles

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A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or an herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Most modern cigarettes are filtered, although this does not make the smoke inhaled from them contain fewer carcinogens and harmful chemicals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altria</span> American tobacco corporation

Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company</span> American tobacco manufacturing company

The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American, after merging with the U.S. operations of British American Tobacco in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British American Tobacco</span> British multinational tobacco company

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2021, it is the largest tobacco company in the world based on net sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Tobacco</span> Japanese cigarette manufacturing company

The Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) is a Japanese diversified tobacco company. It was established in 1985 as a tokushu gaisha that inherited the right to monopolize and manufacture cigarettes from the Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation and required the government to hold at least 50% of its shares. In addition to tobacco, JT diversified its businesses, establishing the pharmaceutical research institute in 1993 and making a full-scale entry into the food and beverage industry in 1998. In 2008, it acquired the food manufacturer Katokichi, now TableMark, as a wholly-owned subsidiary, integrating its food business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Brands</span> British tobacco company

Imperial Brands plc is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in London and Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco and the world's largest producer of fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers.

Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the Benson & Hedges name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British American Tobacco, or Japan Tobacco, depending on the region. In the UK, they are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and were manufactured in Lisnafillan, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, before production was moved to Eastern Europe in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothmans, Benson & Hedges</span> Canadian manufacturer and distributor of tobacco products

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mevius</span> Japanese cigarette brand

Mevius, previously called Mild Seven, is a Japanese brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Japan Tobacco.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macdonald Tobacco</span> Former Canadian tobacco company

The Macdonald Tobacco Company, founded in 1858 by William Christopher Macdonald and his brother Augustine, converted tobacco leaf from southern U.S. suppliers to pipe and chewing tobacco in Montreal. After several acquisitions, it is now known as Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which manages flagship brands such as Benson & Hedges, Camel, Glamour, LD, Mevius, Natural American Spirit, Silk Cut, Sobranie, and Winston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Export (cigarette)</span> Canadian cigarette and rolling tobacco brand

Export is a Canadian brand of cigarettes and rolling tobacco, currently owned and manufactured by JTI Macdonald, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LD (cigarette)</span> Russian cigarette brand

LD is an international brand of cigarettes, currently owned by Japan Tobacco. In the United States, it is manufactured in Turkey for JT International U.S.A.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Leaf</span> Rolling tobacco brand

Amber Leaf is a brand of rolling tobacco. It is a product of the Gallaher Group division of Japan Tobacco. As of May 2016, Amber Leaf tobacco is available in 30g boxes which include papers and filters, and 30g and 50g pouches with rolling papers. In 2011 and recent years, promotional Amber Leaf tobacco tins were sold with the tobacco in some stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Tobacco Canada</span> Cigarette company

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Pax Labs is an American electronic vaporizer company founded in 2007 that markets the Pax vaporizers. The company developed the Juul e-cigarette. Juul Labs was spun out as a separate company in 2017.

CJSC «Donskoy Tabak» is a Russian cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, located in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. It is a part of the Japan Tobacco — a cigarette manufacturing international company. As of 2018, Donskoy Tabak was Russia's fourth-largest cigarette manufacturer.

References

  1. "Our Brands". JTI. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  2. "About Us". JTI. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  3. "Global Site". Japan Tobacco. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. "Where We Operate". JTI. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. "Our leadership". JTI. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  6. "Facts & Figures | When". JTI. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. "ООО "Дж.Т.И. Россия"". www.rusprofile.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. "JTI named top employer in Philippines for 3rd straight year". The Philippine Star. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. "C$27 billion suit vs Big Tobacco starts in Montreal". Reuters . 13 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  10. Banerjee, Sidhartha (1 June 2015). "Judge awards $15 billion to Quebec smokers". CTV News . The Canadian Press . Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  11. "Tobacco companies ordered to pay $15B in damages". CBC News . 1 June 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  12. Rankin, Jennifer (2 June 2015). "Tobacco giants vow to fight Canadian judgment handing C$15bn to smokers". The Guardian . London UK. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  13. "Japan Tobacco International". University of Latvia Foundation. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  14. "Our brands". Japan Tobacco International – a global tobacco company. Retrieved 29 April 2018.