Jodie Myrie takes on Carreras with bama’s cigarettes

BY AL EDWARDS

Friday, January 13, 2012

LOCAL businessman Jodie Myrie has launched bama’s cigarettes in Jamaica and has plans to take the brand into the English-speaking Caribbean.

bama’s cigarettes will be distributed and operated through Myrie’s company Pakia Limited based at March Pen Road in Spanish Town and are manufactured by Montepaz in Uruguay. Pakia also distributes Harlem Bluntz, the best-selling machine-rolled flavoured cigars in the country.

“A release issued by Pakia declared: “ We are now entering a specific part of the tobacco market which has been dominated by Carreras for many years. We intend to use our creativity and innovation to penetrate and earn our share of this huge tobacco market. Much like the major players in the local spirits/liquor industry who carry a wide array of alcoholic products, we at Pakia have taken the same approach with our wide array of tobacco products.”

According to research conducted by Pakia, Carreras has 92 per cent of the cigarette market, the illegal component has seven per cent and a local company has just 1 per cent. Pakia is aiming to have 5 per cent of the market by the end of this year. Myrie estimates that the cigarette market in Jamaica is about $25 billion ( 1 billion sticks at $25 a stick).

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston earlier this week, Myrie said: We have brought in an initial batch of 460 cases of bama’s cigarettes which are 23,000 cartons, and we expect to sell these over the next three months. bama’s cigarettes come in two varieties — full flavour and menthol flavour which are developed to suit the taste buds of the Jamaican smoker. They will be sold through convenience stores, hotels, drugs stores/ pharmacies, duty-free shops, gas stations and street vendors.

“The Master Distributor Price will be J$3,600 per carton ( 10 packs per carton). The regular wholesale price will be J$3,900 per carton. bama’s cigarettes will be sold for $450 per pack which is 25 per cent cheaper than Matterhorn.”

Myrie drew attention to his observation that many cigarette retailers are locked into stringent contracts with Carreras and he is of the view that this breaches fair trade and will be taking the matter up with the Fair Trading Commission. He further added that there is a notion that both Carreras and Musson are the only legal importers and would like to stress that bama’s is legal and above board.

“The cigarettes are kept in our bonded warehouse and the appropriate taxes and duties have been paid. We have been raided twice by the CET and Flying Squad and on both occasions they found us above board. This took place after we submitted our documentation to the Bureau of Standards for approval which we now have. I must say that the authorities were very decent with us and exhibited no hostility.

“We now realise that when we import we need to do presentations to these agencies to inform them about our products and assure them that everything we do is legitimate. We have already done one presentation and will be doing another with our bama’s cigarettes,” said Myrie.

Last year Myrie brought in containers of Harlem Bluntz, the Dominican-made Stonewood cigars, Blunt Wrap, Fronto King, C-thru wraps and cigarillos and says sales have gone well. He now intends to extend his footprint in Jamaica with tobacco products. He will also be making a move to introduce bama’s cigarettes in St Lucia via an inbond vehicle.

“We will be utilising unique marketing to get bama’s cigarettes out there in the public consciousness. We realise that we are up against entrenched brands but we do have a very good product. We will be embarking on a communities tour which begins on January 20 and goes on until February 29. We will first begin in communities in the Corporate Area and will undertake talent shows seeking out the best in these communities. We will be bringing the best entertainers on the road with us and will be doing 12 shows in six weeks to heighten brand awareness,” said Pakia’s group sales and marketing manager Shama Johnson.

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Jodie Myrie takes on Carreras with bama’s cigarettes