Today the Hedgeye Consumer Staples team hosted an expert call on electronic cigarettes featuring Brent Willis, a leading consumer products executive and Chairman and CEO of Victory Electronic Cigarettes. Below are links to a replay podcast and presentation slides.
Podcast: CLICK HERE
Presentation: CLICK HERE
We encourage you to listen as Brent provides insight into the rapidly evolving electronic cigarette story – perhaps the first truly new consumer category in over a decade.
With e-cigarettes currently only representing a 1% share of the entire tobacco market, Hedgeye sees a significant runway for large and small e-cigarette companies to meet growing demand for alternatives to traditional tobacco. But we believe the implications of this technology go far beyond merely replacing tobacco with a product that is viewed as healthier and cleaner. Some major firms recognize the e-cigarette phenomenon as a key part of societal change, one of a number of disruptive new technologies that are changing the way we live.
Hedgeye believes the e-cigarette category is poised to reach sales of $1-2 Billion this year – up from $500 Million in 2012 – and to show significant growth over the coming years. Certainly there are many questions yet to be addressed, including how this new segment will be regulated? Yet the pace of innovation, marketing, and distribution has already brought significant awareness to the category and the early data shows encouraging signs of strong repeat purchase behavior. We are excited about the developing investment opportunities as this category gains visibility.
DISCLOSURES : Victory (ECIG) is a newly-public company with limited trading history and liquidity. Hedgeye has no investment opinion on Victory and no current plans to publish research on the company. Certain Hedgeye executives may at some point become involved in a transaction with Victory or related entities. This presentation is for information purposes only.
