電子煙龍頭試水中國市場,數天后產品下架
電子煙公司Juul Labs的線上銷售在中國剛剛起步幾天就停止了。 Juul的筆式電子煙和煙彈上周在中國兩家最大的電子商務網站阿里巴巴旗下的天貓和京東上的官方網店開始銷售。周末這些產品就銷聲匿跡了。Juul沒有對下架做出解釋,也沒有說明何時會重新上架。 公司發言人說:“雖然Juul的產品目前未在中國電商網站上銷售,但我們期待與利益相關者繼續對話,從而可以再次上線我們的產品。” Juul是美國最暢銷的電子煙,在華盛頓的游說力量很強大。但發生了幾起與電子煙有關的死亡事件后(最近一起是周一),Juul和其他品牌的電子煙在美國可能面臨禁令。 該公司被批評向青少年營銷,引發了青少年吸電子煙的“風潮”,其首席執行官已向廣大家長道歉。最近,特朗普政府提出的一項電子煙政策將禁止銷售水果、薄荷和薄荷醇等口味的電子煙產品,正是這些產品構成了Juul80%的銷售額。但這不是該公司曾面臨的最大威脅——2018年,美國食品和藥物管理局威脅要將所有電子煙產品從市場上下架,以阻擊未成年人使用電子煙的“流行病”。 由于在國內面臨越來越多的監管,Juul正在向國際市場擴張。如果Juul的產品在美國被取締,那么擁有3.15億煙民(和美國總人口差不多一樣)的中國可能會成為一個重要的市場。不過,它將不得不與眾多中國電子煙品牌競爭,比如雪加(Snow+)和悅刻(Relx)。 與美國和其他國家相比,中國對吸煙的法律管制比較寬松。在中國,針對在公共場所吸煙的限制不多,執行力度也不嚴格,煙盒上也不像韓國、馬來西亞、泰國等其他亞洲國家那樣,印有用來阻止人們抽煙的圖案。 Juul的產品在天貓和京東下架之前,一支電子煙和兩個煙彈的售價為42美元。在Juul自己的網站上,一支電子煙加四個煙彈的入門套裝標價49.99美元,但目前的售價為19.99美元。 在天貓和京東上搜索Juul,可以看到有第三方賣家出售充電器和電子煙保護套,但該品牌的官方商店里已空空如也。(財富中文網) 譯者:Agatha |
Online sales of products from e-cigarette company Juul Labs, Inc. have halted in China just days after the company launched there. Juul vape pens and refill pods went on sale in the company's official stores on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Tmall.com and JD.com Inc.'s eponymous website, China's largest e-commerce sites, last week. The products disappeared by the end of the week. Juul did not give an explanation for the delisting or say when the products would return. "While Juul products are not currently available on e-commerce Web sites in China, we look forward to continued dialogue with stakeholders so that we can make our products available again," a company spokesperson said. Juul is the bestselling e-cigarette in the U.S. and has a significant lobbying presence in Washington D.C. But it is facing a potential ban in the U.S. along with other e-cigarette brands after several vaping-related deaths, the most recent on Monday. The company has faced criticism for marketing to teenagers and spurring a teen vaping " epidemic," and its CEO has apologized to parents. A vaping policy recently proposed by the Trump administration would ban flavored fruit, mint, and menthol vaping products—the exact merchandise that provides Juul with 80% of its sales. The policy would not be as damaging to the startup as the Food and Drug Administration's 2018 threat to pull all vaping products from the market to fight the "epidemic" of use by minors. In the face of increased domestic scrutiny, Juul is expanding into international markets, and China, home to 315 million smokers—about as many as the entire U.S. population—could be a critical market if its products are outlawed in the U.S., though it would have to compete with numerous Chinese vape brands like Snow+ and Relx. China's smoking laws are lax compared to the U.S. and other countries. Restrictions on smoking in public places in China are uncommon and loosely enforced, and cigarette packets are bereft of the graphic images designed to discourage smokers as seen in other Asian countries like South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. Before its products were taken off Tmall and JD.com, a vape pen and two flavor pods were selling for $42. On its own website, a "Juul Starter Kit" with one pen and four pods is priced at $49.99 but is currently selling at $19.99. Searches for Juul on Tmall.com and JD.com show charging devices and Juul pen cases for sale from third-party sellers, but nothing from the brand's official store. |