KT&G Hybrid Heated Tobacco Product Sells 200,000 Units in 80 Days

according toThe Korea Times reported that KT&G has sold more than 200,000 units in 80 days since it launched new lil equipment, MIIX tobacco rods and e-cigarette liquids/bombs in South Korea in December 2018. The new equipment is hybrid and uses both e-cigarettes and heating non-burning technology.

KT&G recently said that sales of this hybrid equipment are growing faster than the original lil heating non-burning equipment, which took about 100 days to pass the 200,000-unit mark, reaching 1 million units in October 2018 and 1.5 million units this month.

In recent years, South Korea's e-cigarette market has become increasingly competitive, and industry insiders believe that competition will intensify further as Juul Labs is expected to launch its e-cigarettes in South Korea this year.

According to reports, Lim Wang-seop, head of KT&G's innovative products division, said his company has been developing new products that can compete with Juul. He said that the e-cigarette market only accounts for 3.13% of South Korea's total tobacco market, but after the launch of Juul, KT&G expects this share to grow to about 14% to 15%. Still, Samsung Securities analyst Cho Sang-hoon said KT&G would not be negatively affected by market changes.

KT&G's share of the general cigarette market will increase by approximately 1% to 62.9% this year, while its share of the e-cigarette market will increase from approximately 17% in 2018 to approximately 30% this year.