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T
Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd.’s
use of research and data helps the
company sell products in tobacco categories that are in a state of decline. That
same data can help your retail business prosper in today’s business landscape.
BY ANTOINE REID
[ 28 ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS
[
JULY
/
AUGUST
|
17 ]
The history of Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd. (STG Lane)
is decorated with successful, well-known heritage brands, while the
company itself is anything but traditional. STG Lane is a progressive,
forward-thinking tobacco company that focuses most of its attention in
three categories: roll your own tobacco, traditional pipe tobacco and
filtered cigars. STG Lane faces a rather formidable challenge in selling
and marketing these products: each of these are traditional tobacco cat-
egories that are in a state of decline. Regardless, each category remains
an important part of STG’s overall business plan.
STG Lane is driven by more than financial numbers. The compa-
ny looks at data and sees something many other manufacturers selling
products in the same categories don’t: potential and opportunity. Using
data to fuel their marketing, strategy and relationships with retailers and
other business partners, STG Lane remains competitive and important
to today’s tobacco business landscape.
DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGY
Kelly Michols, president of STG Lane, and others at his company
acknowledge that there are some categories of tobacco products in
decline. “There are parts of these segments that we’re seeing some
growth in—particularly the premium segments—and some building
excitement that we hope bodes well for the future,” says Michols. “The
mainstream segments are still vital to the overall tobacco business but
they’re not the hottest segments in terms of growth right now.”
To support these lower-growth categories, the company tries to take
a more modern approach to how they market items. STG Lane has
gathered consumer and market data research over the years that has
enabled it to develop effective strategies for retailers and its customers.
The company is constantly trying to understand and think aggressive-
ly about the market from more of a category management standpoint
rather than what’s going to be best for STG Lane, an approach that’s
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Kelly Michols, President of STG Lane