Smokeless continues to drive the other-tobacco-products category, with 61% of sales, according to Nielsen. C-store sales rose more than 6%, with units up 2.1%. Cigars saw a 10% jump in unit sales but only a 4% increase in dollar sales, likely because of prepriced promotional items, which “probably hurt margins a bit,” said Andy Jones, president and CEO of Sprint Food Stores, Augusta, Ga. But it seems to have not set back the OTP category too much. NACS SOI figures show a 6.8% increase in monthly OTP sales, and a 4.3% rise in gross profits in 2015.
“With a 4.3% increase in gross-profit dollars, it’s putting money in our pockets,” Jones said.
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