▶KT&G sold a total of 46.5 billion cigarettes overseas in 2015. Of them, 18.4 billion cigarettes, or 39.6 percent, were sold in new overseas markets including the United States, Africa, Latin America and Asia. A consumer purchases KT&G Time cigarettes in the U.S. 

Sales in new markets including the U.S. and Africa have increased threefold for the last five years through differentiation strategy.

KT&G (President Bok-in Baek) has actively expanded to the new markets including existiting Middle East, Central Asia, as well as, Russia market.

According to a KT&G official, the company sold a total of 46.5 billion cigarettes overseas in 2015. Of them, 18.4 billion cigarettes, or 39.6 percent, were sold in new overseas markets including the United States, Africa, Latin America and Asia.

KT&G sold 6.2 billion cigarettes in such markets in 2010, accounting for only 15.4 percent among the company's total overseas sales. This figure has increased by 2.5 times or more for the last five years.

KT&G's success in new overseas markets is attributed to the company's differentiation strategy through the excellent product quality combined with thorough market research.

In 2015, the company sold a total of 2.8 billion cigarettes in the U.S., more than double its 1.1 billion sales in 2010. As part of efforts to enter new overseas markets, KT&G launched a new subsidiary in the U.S. and started selling a modified version of its Time cigarettes in 2010.

In Africa, KT&G sold only 40 million cigarettes in 2010, but sales have skyrocketed by 70 times over the last five years to reach 2.8 billion cigarettes last year. Coordination with local distributors with capability and introduction of slim cigarettes in Africa has led to the company's sales success. Sales have increased sevenfold in Latin America and doubled in the Asia-Pacific region.

Time cigarettes led the sales in the U.S. while consumers in Africa and Latin America like Pine. And Esse cigarettes were the company's best-selling brand in the Asia-Pacific region where Bohem Cigar was popular among Taiwanese consumers who are known to be style-conscious consumers.

A KT&G official said, "KT&G's sales success in new overseas markets is significant because the company has entered into markets already dominated by transnational tobacco companies. KT&G will focus on new overseas markets based on the manufacturing technology achieved in competitive domestic market”