The tobacconist market - France

A tobacconist is a convenience store open for more than 10 hours a day in France, 6 or 7 days a week: either a bar-tabac, a village multi-service store, or a press and games outlet. Today, there are almost 23,000 sales outlets in France, making tobacconists the leading local retailers in the country. Buralistes" are licensed to sell tobacco products in France. Buralistes are trying to integrate the tobacco value chain in France, including the creation by the Confédération des Buralistes in 2017 of their own cigarette brand 'LCB' ("La Cigarette du Buraliste") to compete with the tobacco giants in France with low prices. Globally, the tobacco market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.01% between 2023 and 2033, with North America the fastest-growing region over this period. In terms of tobacco consumers, the region with the highest number of users is South-East Asia, with 411 million consumers, although this figure is down on previous years. The European region, meanwhile, has 179 million. In France, the price of a pack of cigarettes reached the €10.5 mark in 2023, leading to a drop in consumption. Smoking has been declining in France since 2010, and has accelerated in recent years. What's more, as the e-cigarette market gradually replaces the traditional tobacco market, tobacconists are tackling this growing market with the sale of several types of products and tobacco liquids in a variety of flavors. Vapotage, heating tobacco and chichas for tobacco-related products; but also stationery and newspapers as well as food products: diversification today appears to be essential to survive on the market: indeed, the crisis is hitting tobacconists harder and harder, with almost 8,000 tobacconists closing down over the last 15 years. The future of this type of business therefore lies in its ability to reinvent itself, diversify and modernize. What's more, tobacconists' overall offering is diversifying, gradually transforming their business model with the aim of remaining the local shop par excellence.