Commonwealth – Altadis, Inc. strengthens competitive position with total tobacco focus and larger sales force.
Altadis U.S.A. Inc. and Commonwealth Brands Inc., both owned by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, have come together to create a new sales and distribution company called Commonwealth – Altadis Inc. (CAI), offering consumers and customers a high quality range of brands and products.
“Commonwealth – Altadis Inc. brings the outstanding sales and marketing teams of Altadis and Commonwealth together to provide greater sales coverage, a larger portfolio of products and a more comprehensive service to our customers,” said Graham Bolt, regional director, Americas. “The combination strengthens our competitive position and enables us to apply our total tobacco focus to our sales expansion strategy. Total tobacco means expertise across tobacco categories at a range of price points, providing unrivalled choice for consumers and customers. Our enhanced total tobacco portfolio includes great cigarette, cigar and fine cut tobacco brands and we’re very excited about driving the growth of our brands and products through a larger, integrated sales team.”
The relocation of Commonwealth’s Kentucky operations to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is already in process. The company’s Fort Lauderdale offices will be enlarged to house its headquarters, and sales and marketing management teams. Strategic resources from the two companies will be integrated to enhance Commonwealth – Altadis Inc.’s capabilities, support continued growth, and streamline processes to better service customers and retail partners.
Paul Matthews, head of sales, and Russ Mancuso, head of national accounts, will provide day-to-day leadership to the company’s sales operations. Together, they will lead a Commonwealth – Altadis Inc. combined sales force of over 750.
Signature brands sold by Commonwealth – Altadis Inc. include USA Gold, Fortuna and Sonoma cigarettes, Phillies, Dutch Masters, and Backwoods and White Cat cigars.