Cedars, the second biggest-selling cigarette brand in Lebanon, has witnessed a drop in market share since February 2005, with some shop owners reporting a decrease of up to 50% in sales. The national brand which shot through the ranks of best selling cigarettes in the country largely due to its low price (LBP 750 per packet) is understood to be the smoke of choice for the country’s estimated 400,000 low-wage Syrian workers.
“Between 2000 and 2005, we experienced a 100% increase in sales,” says Antoine Madi of the Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, which produces the brand. “We did no marketing, nor any promotion. Sales went up due to the quality of the brand and its low price.”
Until January 2005, Cedars averaged annual sales of 80 million packets, giving it a 20% share of the Lebanese market, estimated at 7.5 billion “sticks” a year. It by-passed sales of leading international brands Winston, Viceroy, Gauloises and Gitanes, and briefly challenged Marlboro as the country’s leading brand. Since February however, perhaps as a result of many Syrian workers returning home, Cedars has slipped to second place.
“We see two reasons for this,” said Madi. “An increase in counterfeited products on the Lebanese market, which is challenging our product, and the mass departure of Syrian workers in the country since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”
Illicit trade and counterfeited products remains a significant problem in Lebanon and the region. “It’s a big issue in this country,” said Naushad Ramoly, head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at British American Tobacco’s Levant and Yemen operations. “It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody: the consumers get products of poor quality, the country loses tax income and the tobacco companies suffer a drop in revenue.”
Habib Abdel Massih, the owner of a grocery store located next to a construction site in Gemmayzeh, says his shop has witnesses a 50% drop in sales of Cedars.
“The Lebanese prefer smoking Marlboro, Winston or Lucky Strike,” he explains. “They don’t trust the Regie to provide a quality product. Cedars is predominantly smoked by Syrian workers and the Lebanese living in the mountains.”
