煙草在線據《便利店新聞》報道編譯　　隨著萬寶路NXT的進一步拓展和MarkTen電子卷煙的上市，奧馳亞集團仍然看好傳統卷煙業務。

　　7月23日上午，在奧馳亞集團的第二財季和2013上半財年的業績發布會上，總裁兼首席執行官馬丁·巴林頓透露，今年7月，萬寶路NXT陸續在另外的23個州上市，主要是在美國東部的各州上市。萬寶路NXT是菲莫美國制造的萬寶路黑盒系列的一個延伸品牌，特色之處在于擁有一個可捏爆的薄荷膠囊。該產品于去年秋季在美國2個州上市。

　　“萬寶路NXT極受歡迎，是萬寶路黑盒家族中一個非常好的延伸品牌，”他說道。

　　巴林頓還表示，下月在印第安納州推出MarkTen電子卷煙的計劃正已步入正軌。他解釋說，盡管奧馳亞的子公司——Nu Mark公司仍在開展電子卷煙的營銷計劃，但成年吸煙者和成年電子煙使用者仍是該產品的營銷目標，這在我們的營銷活動中可以看出來。

　　雖然奧馳亞是美國三大煙草公司——另外兩個是羅瑞拉德煙草公司和雷諾美國公司——中最后一個進軍電子卷煙領域的煙草公司，但巴林頓表示，他對該公司能夠成功地讓消費者接受MarkTen非常有信心。他強調，電子卷煙仍處于“發展初期”，這將是“一個持久的游戲。”

　　展望未來，毫無疑問，今年下半財年奧馳亞將非常忙碌。巴林頓稱，除了該公司的萬寶路NXT和MarkTen計劃外，今年9月，奧馳亞還將把神韻（Verve）的分銷渠道擴展到弗吉尼亞州的1200個商店，神韻是一種含有較少煙草成分的尼古丁設備。

Altria Expands Marlboro NXT, Preps for E-Cigarette Entry

　　The Altria Group Inc. continues to look beyond the traditional cigarette segment with its expansion of Marlboro NXT and the introduction of its MarkTen electronic cigarette.

　　During the company's second-quarter and first-half 2013 earnings call this morning, Chairman and CEO Marty Barrington revealed that Marlboro NXT rolled out to an additional 23 states this month, primarily in the eastern United States. Marlboro NXT, which is a line extension of Philip Morris USA's Marlboro Black, features a crushable menthol capsule. The product made its debut in two regions last fall.

　　"It has been very well received and is a nice addition to the Marlboro Black family," he noted.

　　Barrington also reported that plans for MarkTen's introduction into Indiana next month are on track. While Altria's subsidiary Nu Mark is still firming up marketing plans for the electronic cigarette, adult smokers and adult vapers (e-cigarette users) remain the product's target and the marketing campaign will reflect that, he explained.

　　Although Altria is the last of the big three tobacco companies -- along with Lorillard Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. -- to enter the electronic cigarette category, Barrington said he is confident the company will be successful in getting MarkTen to consumers. Noting e-cigarettes are still in their "early days," he said it will be "a long game."

　　Looking ahead, the second half of this year is sure to keep Altria busy. In addition to the company's Marlboro NXT and MarkTen plans, Altria will expand distribution of Verve, a tobacco-less nicotine disc, to 1,200 stores in Virginia in September, according to Barrington. Enditem