France's BIC sees high potential in US pot smokers
French manufacturer BIC is targeting the expanding U. S. cannabis market to boost lagging lighter sales by expanding into smoke shops and using celebrity endorsements.
Paris - BIC, the French manufacturer of disposable pens, razors, and lighters, is exploring opportunities in the United States to boost profits - by targeting marijuana smokers. The company has revived the 1970s ad slogan "Flick my BIC" and aims to introduce its pocket lighters to the rapidly growing American cannabis user base. According to the CEO, Rob Versloot, "Marijuana use in the United States is progressing much more quickly than it ever did in the Netherlands."
Versloot, who took over as CEO just over a year ago, believes there is a significant market to conquer. As the company seeks to recover from declining tobacco sales, it has enlisted the help of celebrity marijuana enthusiasts such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Martha Stewart for promotional ads. BIC primarily focuses on big grocery and retail chains but sees potential in the thousands of smoke shops catering to cannabis users.
Haven Cockerham, the head of BIC's North American operations, estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 of these smoke shops represent a major opportunity. Lighters account for about a third of BIC's sales in the first half of the year, which saw a 3.5 percent decline overall to just over one billion euros.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
