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PMB is also running a campaign to reduce the sale of cigarettes to under-age smokers. “We are proud of the fact that our partner in this respect...

At a news conference on August 2 2007, Philip Morris Bulgaria (PMB), a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, announced the launch of a new product for the Bulgarian market. The Assos Slim product is called Bond Street and is part of the company’s Assos International brand. The name comes from Bond Street in London where Philip Morris opened his very first tobacco shop in 1847. According to the company, the Bond Street brand is smoked in more than 30 countries, making it the ninth biggest brand worldwide. Bond Street is available in three varieties and is aimed at the lower end of the market. It is being sold for about two leva a packet.

In addition, on August 10 PMB launched its next Marlboro product, Marlboro Silver.

Philip Morris International re-entered the Bulgarian market in July 2006, through PMB. Originally, PMB launched with the Marlboro and Parliament brands. The portfolio was expanded earlier this year with the L&M and Assos International brands. Since January 2007 the company’s share of the Bulgarian market has increased more than five times, reaching nearly seven per cent in value terms, PMB said.

PMB is also running a campaign to reduce the sale of cigarettes to under-age smokers. “We are proud of the fact that our partner in this respect, our national distributor Kaven Orbico, has fully supported this important initiative along with the many thousands of retailers that buy cigarettes from Kaven Orbico,” said country manager Andrei Vasilescu.

As of July 27 one of the biggest Bulgarian distributors Avendi OOD started selling Slim Agenda cigarettes at a lower price. The brand is part of the portfolio of the House of Prince, Denmark, part of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. The new price of a box is 2.20 leva.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Finance (MF) proposed to increase the excise duty on cigarettes by 33 per cent in 2008, MPs from the ruling coalition said. Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski presented a draft proposal for the rise in excise on unleaded petrol, gas, oil, kerosene, coke, coal, electricity and cigarettes, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik reported on August 8. The biggest excise growth is proposed for cigarettes and the new excise rates are waiting to be approved in late August.

The official reasoning for this step is the necessity to reach minimum EU rates while taming inflationary factors in view of Bulgaria’s bid for entry in the euro zone.

MF is proposing to adopt, upfront, half the excise rate increase originally planned to be implemented in 2010 and leave the other half for 2009. This means the excise will increase from the current 74.75 leva a 1000 pieces to 100 leva a 1000 pieces in 2008.