Dassy88

这是Kimly的帖子。因为未放在纳爷空间频道里，可能很多人没看见。现转帖


转一篇CBC对帝国烟草在大西洋省份进行价格战的报道。


Imperial Tobacco denies sparking price war

New program in Maritimes 'raises serious legal issues': JTI-Macdonald Corp.

Last Updated: Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | 11:26 AM ET Comments40Recommend21
CBC News

The cost of buying a package of cigarettes is at the centre of a controversy in the Maritimes, where Imperial Tobacco has come under fire for its new discounting program. (CBC)Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. has denied starting a price war for cigarettes in the Maritimes despite concerns by some store owners, another tobacco company and the Canadian Cancer Society.

The reaction comes after Imperial Tobacco introduced a discount program, called the expansion preferred pricing program, in November. It has been offered to about one-third of retailers in Nova Scotia.

As a result, some cigarettes are being sold for as much as 50 cents less per package in 621 stores across the Maritimes.

Sid Chedrawe, a convenience store owner in Dartmouth, N.S., said he was not invited to participate in the program.

"You are only given the opportunity to join this program by invitation and there's just something that seems at odds with fair competition rules that we have here in Canada," he told CBC News.

Eric Gagnon, a spokesman for Imperial Tobacco, said the program is designed to encourage competitive pricing, and it's up to store owners to decide how much of a discount — if any — is offered to customers.

"Some of them will have a benefit, which is a reduction in the price they pay," Gagnon said.

"Even before the program, the prices of tobacco products were not the same in all the stores. It was all based on the margin that the retailers themselves wanted to take."

He refused to say what criteria was used to select stores for the cheaper cigarettes.

Chedrawe said there's no question he will lose business when smokers start finding which stores sell the discounted cigarettes — such as the one across the street from his.

"Fifty cents is a huge difference, and they will go down the road, across the street or across town for that," he said.

"It's just the way it is. It's like gas. People will drive all the way to Sackville because they think they can get gas for a penny cheaper."

Cancer society reacts

JTI-Macdonald Corp., one of Imperial Tobacco's largest competitors, sent a letter to its retailers that said Imperial Tobacco's new program "raises serious legal issues under the federal Competition Act."

"ITCO [Imperial Tobacco Company] is asking you to reduce your margin on its premium brands, alleging that it will increase traffic into your store," said the letter, obtained by CBC News.

"You will lose those adult consumers seeking the lowest-priced cigarettes unless you drastically reduce your own profit margin in what is the fastest-growing segment."

Chedrawe said what Imperial Tobacco is doing is not how a free market should operate.

"A company should not be allowed to control the destiny of retailers. They cannot just randomly select people and say, 'We will let you do this,'" he said.

"From a retailer's perspective, the people who are not on this program seem to take it on the chin because if two retailers across the street from each other — one has it and one doesn't — the one who doesn't, people may perceive that retailer as being someone who's gouging and overcharging."

Meanwhile, the campaign has also caught the attention of the Canadian Cancer Society, which said the issue will be dealt with at the national level.

"The Canadian Cancer Society supports a total ban on all promotional measures put forth by the tobacco industry that are intended to increase tobacco sales and thus consumption," said Maureen Summers, executive director of the society's Nova Scotia division.

"We will be working with our national public issues office to move this issue forward to see what we can do with provincial and federal governments in terms of strengthening the Tobacco Act and legislation that would restrict this kind of activity and promotion from the tobacco industry."



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/1...#ixzz17w38add0

国内媒体的转载

加拿大帝国烟草可能引发价格战

来源：中国烟草市场网 2010-12-7

　　尽管一些商店业主、另一家烟草公司和加拿大癌症协会担忧，但是加拿大帝国烟草公司否认在滨海诸省启动一场卷烟价格战。

　　在帝国烟草于11月推出扩大优先定价计划的折扣项目后，引起的以上反应。它已经向新斯科舍大约有三分之一的零售商提供了该项目。

　　因此，在滨海诸省的621个商店内，一些卷烟的售价每包降低了50美分。

　　新斯科舍达特茅斯的便利店老板锡德·查德威说，他并没有受邀参与这个项目。

　　“通过邀请你才有机会加入这个项目，这与加拿大的公平竞争规则不一致，”他对CBC（加拿大广播公司）新闻节目表示。

　　帝国烟草的发言人埃里克·盖格农表示，该项目是为了鼓励激烈的价格竞争，如果有折扣的话，由商店老板来决定提供给顾客折扣的多少。

　　“一些客户将受益，因为他们支付的价格低了，”盖格农说。

　　“即使在开展此项目之前，在所有商店里，烟草制品的价格也不一样。这由零售商根据自己要获得的利润所决定。”

　　他拒绝给出选择出售廉价卷烟的商店所采取的标准。

　　查德威说，毫无疑问，当烟民寻找哪个商店出售折扣卷烟，例如街道对面商店的时候，他将失去生意。

　　“50美分的差距很大，他们将沿着这条路走，穿过街道或穿过城市去购买折扣卷烟，”他说。

　　“这是自然而然的事情。这就像汽油一样。人们会开车到萨克维尔市，因为他们能得到便宜一便士的汽油。”

　　癌症协会的反应

　　帝国烟草最大的竞争对手日本烟草国际麦克唐纳公司，写信给它的零售商表示，根据联邦竞争法，帝国烟草的新计划“会引起严重的法律问题”。

　　“帝国烟草公司要求你减少高档品牌的利润，声称它将增加你商店的客流量，”CBC新闻得到的这封信表示。

　　“除非你大幅降低增长最快部分产品的利润，否则你会失去那些寻求最低价卷烟的成年消费者。”

　　查德威说，帝国烟草的做法，不是一个自由市场的运作方式。

　　“不应该允许一个公司来控制零售商的命运。他们不能随机选一个人说:‘我们会让你这样做，’”他说。

　　“从零售商的观点来看，没有参与该项目的人似乎要输，因为如果两个零售商在街道对面——一个参与了项目，另一个没有——对于没有参与项目的零售商，人们可能会认为这个零售商漫天要价。”

　　与此同时，该活动还吸引了加拿大肿瘤协会的注意力，该协会称，将在国家层面上处理该问题。

　　“加拿大癌症协会支持全面禁止烟草业提出的增加烟草销售额和消费量的所有宣传措施，”该协会新斯科舍分部的执行主管莫林·萨摩斯说。

　　“我们将同国家公共事务办公室一同解决这个问题，看一下在加强《烟草法》和限制烟草业的这种行为和促销立法方面，我们能同省和联邦政府一起做些什么。”