ITC focuses on innovation to sustain leadership position in

Diversified conglomerate ITC Limited is focusing on quality and innovation to sustain its leadership position in the cigarette business, an official said.

The company has recently revised prices of its cigarettes to mitigate the impact of the increase in taxes on the tobacco product, the official said.

"While a revision of prices was necessitated to mitigate the impact of the increase in taxes, the company, with its focus on offering products anchored on quality and innovation, and a well-laddered portfolio catering to various consumer segments across India, remains confident of consolidating its market standing going forward," an ITC spokesperson said.

Industry sources said that ITC has been introducing new variants and augmenting its product portfolio in the cigarette business.

"Key market interventions in recent months include the launch of innovative and differentiated offerings such as Gold Flake Indie Mint, Gold Flake Neo and Classic Rich & Smooth in the premium end," according to sources.

The company spokesperson said that extremely stringent regulations along with a discriminatory taxation regime on cigarettes in recent years have led to a decline in volumes of legal cigarette business.

"This has resulted in sub-optimisation of the revenue potential of the tobacco sector," he added.