Sainsbury’s has become the first multiple grocer to stock Heets, the heat-not-burn tobacco refills used in Philip Morris International’s Iqos devices. However, the initial rollout was disrupted by the collapse of Palmer & Harvey last week.
The tobacco giant announced plans for a national rollout of Iqos in May as part of its strategy to eventually make traditional cigarettes obsolete. The Iqos devices are currently only available online and from three dedicated Iqos stores in London. The Heets are stocked by about 1,000 independent retailers in and around the capital.
Sainsbury’s confirmed that it had now begun selling the Heets in 50 stores in London. However, The Grocer understands that a wider London rollout planned for early last week was originally due to be handled by P&H, which went into administration on 28 November. This led to some stock getting stuck in the supply chain, though both parties are now thought to have put contingencies in place and the situation is being resolved. A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said the full rollout would be completed over the next few weeks.
The Sainsbury’s launch is a significant step for Philip Morris as it looks to overcome retailer concerns about stocking the refills without the actual Iqos devices. For now, PMI is keen to retain control of the sales of devices in order to be able to properly educate consumers on how to use them properly.
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