烟草在线据SBWire报道编译　　奥驰亚集团将进军英国电子卷烟的利基市场，并将于今年下半年推出其电子卷烟。位于弗吉尼亚州里士满的这家公司已经发表声明，确认推出电子卷烟，但并没有透露具体在哪个市场推出。该公司将于6月提供关于此事的更多细节。

　　在该公司经历了收入下降5%之后不久，奥驰亚做了这一决定。该公司最畅销的产品，万宝路的销售也下降了同样的比例。据奥驰亚的首席执行官马丁·巴林顿（Martin Barrington）先生说，公司将不得不接纳这一利基市场的现有公司，就像罗瑞拉德公司和NJOY一样。罗瑞拉德公司声称，美国电子卷烟市场超过40%的份额被其Blu Cigs品牌占领。

　　Stifel金融公司的分析师克里斯托弗·格罗（Christopher Growe）表示，奥驰亚拥有必要的资源、强大的销售队伍，并且建立了营销网络，这将使它成为电子卷烟市场的重要参与者。

　　彭博行业分析师肯尼思·谢伊（Kenneth Shea）推测说，奥驰亚公司可能会选择无机增长，并且收购一家现有的制造电子卷烟的公司。截止到3月31日，奥驰亚公司的现金及现金等价物达到37.8亿美元，比2012年12月31日的数字多8.8亿美元。该公司没有明确表示它是否会收购电子卷烟市场的一家现有公司，或者它是否将利用其现有品牌的平台推出电子卷烟。

　　罗瑞拉德公司的估计显示，在今年的前三个月，人们大约使用了6亿支电子卷烟以代替传统卷烟。这意味着全年消费大约24亿支电子卷烟，占到总体卷烟市场的1%。

　　奥驰亚公司也将不得不考虑美国食品及药品管理局正在考虑的关于电子卷烟的监管问题。

　　除了奥驰亚，其他电子卷烟制造商，如格林斯博罗、雷诺，以及罗瑞拉德公司，都面临着类似的问题。

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