Evening star., 1928-11-10
CIGARETTE TRADE
/. IS SEEKING RECORD
Sales Figures Thus Far Point
to Banner Year for
Industry.
BY J. c. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, November l0.-With
the election demand a thing of the
past, but with the Christmas sales in
immediate prospect, the cigarette in
dustry is working at top speed to pile
up the greatest annual output the in
duStry has ever known. There is every
reason to believe from sales figures so
far that cigarette consumption. in 1923
will be approximately IL per cent
heavier than in 1927. Already once
this year consumption has exceeded
10000, 900 cigarettes in month and
1t Is believed the sales for the last quar-
ter OF 1928 will aggregate at least 30,-
600, 100000
The greatest gains have been recorded
by the four chief manufacturers, each
OF whom features at least one outstand-
ing brand OF cigarettes. These concerns
account for about 90 per cent of the
production. The smaller concerns have
not enjoyed the same expansion sales
as their larger competitors, most of
tpem have not been able to engage in
expensive advertising campaigns with
which the larger concerns have bolstered
trade. Even the larger producers have
cut down on their advertising some
what. although it still is OF enormous
volume. 1t is regarded as a question by
some economists whether this has been
good policy or not. since expansion of
consumption was gained instead by a
price reduction from about $6.40 thou
sand on the average to Sc.
Sales Volume Gains.
There is no doubt that this cut. made
last April. was for the purpose Of
speeding up sales. which had COM
menced to fall of, For a time the
effect of the cut was not felt sharply.
as 1t took a considerable period for
the retail distributors to pass the re-
duction along to the ultimate con-
suners.
The lower selling prices naturally cut
the margin of profit, but the gain in
volume of sales has enabled manufac-
turers to produce cigarettes more
cheaply, as Is always the case with
Quantity. manufacture. Then. too, the
big concerns have put into effect many
operating and distributing economies
and have installed new and improved
machinery, which has helped out costs.
Many Of the smaller concerns have
been unable to follow out this policy.
although most Of them met the price
cuts announced by the big corpora
tiorS.
Despite the unusual political CAM
paign demand, the output of the main
cigar manufacturers promises to be
about per cent lower than year ago.
Economies of operation, however, will
enable not a few OF the companies
to show as high earnings as they did
a year ago. They have been aided by
extensive advertising campaigns and
by the installation of machines to do
much of the work formerly done by
highly skilled employees. They also
have gotten rid OF number OF u1-
profitable factories and centered their
efforts in the better located plants.
One OF the striking features OF the
tobacco situation has been the improve
ment in the demand for snuff. This is
traced by most experts to the regula-
tions against smoking which prevail In
many industrial plants and Offices This
gain has undoubtedly been at the ex-
pense of chewing tobacco to large eX-
tent, for the sales o. chewing tobacco
have fallen off unmistakably.