China: STMA Holds National Cigarette Sales Working Meeting

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 12/11/2012

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) – the regulator of China's tobacco industry – held the 2012 annual national cigarette sales working meeting in Beijing on November 29-30, summing up the work of cigarette sales nationwide in 2012, making in-depth analysis of the current situation of cigarette marketing, and making arrangements for cigarette marketing in 2013.

STMA Director-General Jiang Chengkang gave important written instructions to the meeting on cigarette sales, emphasizing the promotion of cigarette production and marketing to higher levels and accelerating efforts for meeting the targets for the development of competitive cigarette brands. STMA Deputy Director-General He Zehua attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

In the written instructions, Jiang pointed out that since 2012, the tobacco industry of China, closely in accordance with the basic policy of "promoting cigarette production and marketing to higher levels" and the "1+5" objective and task, accelerated the process of developing key cigarette brands and managed to promote cigarette marketing on a full scale, making obvious achievements in cigarette sales, brands development, development of webs, improvement of customer service, marketing management, etc, and making positive contributions to sustainable and healthy development of the tobacco industry.

Jiang emphasized that the year 2013 will be a crucial period of time for implementing the basic policy of "promoting cigarette production and marketing to higher levels" and for accelerating the process of meeting the targets for developing competitive cigarette brands. Jiang urged continued adherence to taking the development of key cigarette brands as an important task for cigarette trading enterprises, and continued efforts to give play to the basic and leading roles of marketing to the development of competitive cigarette brands.

In his speech to the meeting, He Zehua recalled and summed up the work of cigarette marketing over the past three years, particularly since the beginning of 2012.

He pointed out that since 2010, particularly since the beginning of 2012, the commercial sector of the tobacco industry has striven to improve the marketing situation, has managed to accelerate the process of developing key cigarette brands, has taken steps to develop a modern cigarette trading system on a full scale, keeping promoting cigarette marketing to higher levels, realizing steady growth in cigarette marketing, making remarkable achievements in brands development, making breakthrough in the development of webs, making obvious successes in keeping strengthening the management of marketing, maintaining a development situation of generally stable growth in cigarette marketing, and making positive contributions to sustained, coordinated and common development of the tobacco industry.

He emphasized that in 2013, the general requirements for the work of cigarette marketing nationwide will be to promote in an in-depth way realization of the strategic task of "promoting cigarette production and marketing to higher levels", to strive to improve the status quo of cigarette marketing closely in accordance with the development of competitive cigarette brands, to strengthen the construction of terminals on a full scale, to keep promoting cigarette marketing to higher levels, to accelerate the process of developing well-known cigarette brands, and to establish on a full scale a modern cigarette trading system that will be the first rate in the world.

He put forward a four-point specific requirement for the work of cigarette marketing over a next period of time:

Firstly, importance shall be attached to changes of both the supply and demand of cigarette products, and the status quo of cigarette marketing shall be mastered.

Secondly, importance shall be attached to key cigarette brands, and cigarette marketing shall be promoted to higher levels.

Thirdly, importance shall be attached to the relationship between the suppliers and customers, and the construction of terminals shall be promoted.

And fourthly, efforts shall be made to maintain a favorable order of cigarette marketing and to strengthen the management of cigarette marketing. Enditem