K Lee

Publications (3)8.63 Total impact

• Article: Gaining access to Vietnam's cigarette market: British American Tobacco's strategy to enter 'a huge market which will become enormous'.

  K Lee, H V Kinh, R Mackenzie, A B Gilmore, N T Minh, J Collin
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  ABSTRACT: British American Tobacco (BAT) has made concerted efforts since the late 1980s to establish a major presence in Vietnam, among the world's 10 fastest growing tobacco markets. Until 2000, Vietnam's tight regulation of the industry has been largely driven by trade and investment policy, resulting in a stronger domestic industry but increased production and consumption of tobacco products. BAT gained market access, and achieved a dominant market share among TTCs, through leaf development, licensed manufacturing, and the contraband trade. With impending trade liberalization in Vietnam, the company is now well placed to further expand sales. The ambitious National Tobacco Control Policy, adopted in 2000, signals a shift in political priority towards the protection of public health. Effective implementation and enforcement of its comprehensive measures will depend on the public health community's ability to draw support from regional and global experience, notably the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
  Global Public Health 02/2008; 3(1):1-25. · 0.92 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Anna Gilmore

  Article: Breaking and re-entering: British American Tobacco in China 1979-2000.

  K Lee, A B Gilmore, J Collin
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  ABSTRACT: To analyse the strategy used by British American Tobacco (BAT) to re-enter the Chinese market from 1979 to 2000 after historically dominating the market before the 1950s. Analysis of tobacco industry document files to date available only on-site at the Guildford Depository operated by BAT. An additional search of recent documents related to BAT, placed in the Minnesota Depository, was also carried out. BAT has been committed to regaining its historically dominant position in China since the country reopened to foreign companies in 1979. Initially, BAT remained cautious relative to competitors in seeking joint ventures, finding market access hindered by bureaucratic complexity, restrictions on foreign investment and imports quotas, and later an advertising ban. Instead, the documents suggest BAT strongly relied on illegal imports to expand market presence of State Express 555 and other key brands. It was only when risks to contraband sales increased that the company made greater efforts to establish a legal presence in the country. Attempts to stress the long history of BAT in China and a proclaimed commitment to corporate social responsibility have been used to facilitate later negotiations. China has remained relatively closed to transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) during its transition to a market economy, maintaining a firm grip over foreign investment and imports. Nonetheless, BAT has circumvented such restrictions through illegal imports and exploitation of inconsistencies in the local enforcement of advertising bans. Governments need to understand and address the full range of market entry tactics by TTCs in order to ensure effective tobacco control.
  Tobacco control 01/2005; 13 Suppl 2:ii88-95. · 3.85 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: nih.gov

  Article: Complicity in contraband: British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in Asia.

  J Collin, E Legresley, R MacKenzie, S Lawrence, K Lee
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  ABSTRACT: To examine the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in cigarette smuggling in Asia, and to assess the centrality of illicit trade to regional corporate strategy. Analysis of previously confidential documents from BAT's Guildford depository. An iterative strategy combined searches based on geography, organisational structure, and key personnel, while corporate euphemisms for contraband were identified by triangulation. BAT documents demonstrate the strategic importance of smuggling across global, regional, national, and local levels. Particularly important in Asia, contraband enabled access to closed markets, created pressure for market opening, and was highly profitable. Documents demonstrate BAT's detailed oversight of illicit trade, seeking to reconcile the conflicting demands of control and deniability. BAT documents demonstrate that smuggling has been driven by corporate objectives, indicate national measures by which the problem can be addressed, and highlight the importance of a coordinated global response via WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
  Tobacco control 01/2005; 13 Suppl 2:ii104-11. · 3.85 Impact Factor