Following the tax rise announced in the Budget, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Imperial Tobacco were caught up in a price war leading the latter to change its prices twice within a day, reports betterRetailing.

Imperial Tobacco was first to release its new prices following chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new autumn Budget but was soon after undercut by JTI’s updated price list. According to betterRetailing, Imperial then hit back with another updated pricing list pushing the recommended prices down to match those of JTI and causing anger among retailers.
“Our members were put in a position where they had to change prices up to three times, spending, on average, 45 minutes per change,” said NFRN Scottish president Ferhan Ashiq. “Everyone is angry about the workload Imperial have placed on us and the perception of greed it places on those stores forced to change price twice in a 24-hour period.”
Stores are allowed to set their own tobacco prices however are often influenced by tobacco companies who use campaigns and certain incentives to convince shop owners to sell at the recommended price.
Responding to the claims, an Imperial Tobacco spokesperson told betterRetailing, “Imperial Tobacco works hard to ensure its products remain competitively priced in the market for the benefit of its customers and consumers. Retailers are free at all times to set their own prices.”