44 / 55
VENDOR PROFILE
formerly of Fontem Ventures. “It’s all
about ramping up to expand distribu-
tion for the wave of consumers who
will be looking for high quality products
in a regulated environment. We want to
facilitate that and help retailers realize
the opportunity that it offers.”
In particular, tobacco product outlets
and c-stores that have been burned by
attempts to enter the e-cigarette and
vapor market can benefit under the new
regulatory scheme, says D’Alessandris,
who expects to see 50 percent of exist-
ing vape shops disappear over the next
few years and the remaining shops to
change their business models. “We
are telling retailers that there will be a
wave of consumers moving out of vape
shops and looking for products in other
channels, tobacco shops and c-stores.
We are working with these two classes
of trade to get them ready for it not only
by representing our own brands, but
with full category management sup-
port, helping them manage their entire
assortment and advising them on the
best merchandising strategy.
CHANGES STILL AFOOT
Even as EAS seeks to position itself in
the evolving market, D’Alessandris ex-
pects the landscape underfoot to con-
tinue to shift. “There will be lawsuits and
legislative efforts that will help shape the
regulations, and we are supporting ef-
forts to change the predicate date,” he
says. “There are other parts of the regu-
lations that are clearly overreaching, and
they are likely to be shaped by litigation.
That has been the case in the past when
“It’s all about
ramping up to
expand distribu-
tion for the wave of
consumers who will
be looking for high
quality products
in a regulated
environment. We
want to facilitate
that and help
retailers realize
the opportunity
that it offers.”
81
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011