Sales of blu eCigs, the US market leader in store sales, fell by more than one third in the second quarter as the introduction of competing products by national companies cut into market share, said parent company Lorillard.

Market share dipped to just below 41 per cent in the 13 weeks to 5 July. Market share for the Lorillard e-cigarette product was 45 per cent as of 15 March. Both Reynolds American and Altria expanded marketing of their e-products Vuse and MarkTen as they worked toward national launches late in the second quarter.
Blu eCig sales in the business period ended 30 June were USD 37 million (EUR 27.6 million), with gross profit down by half to USD 9 million, Lorillard said.
Reynolds American in July tabled a takeover offer for Lorillard that included spinning off assets including Blu and a UK e-cigarette unit acquired last autumn to Imperial Tobacco.
Lorillard cigarette volume fell 3.4 per cent to 10.1 billion sticks. Volume for Newport, the company’s mainstay, was down 1.9 per cent in the quarter. Price increases and reduced costs improved adjusted operating profit 4.2 per cent to USD 549 million on sales of USD 1.8 billion, a gain of 0.9 per cent.