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| Philip Morris Korea Managing Director Paik Young-jae speaks during a press conference held for the launch of new heat-not-burn product IQOS ILUMA ONE in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Philip Morris Korea |
By Kim Jae-heun
Philip Morris Korea introduced its latest heat-not-burn (hnb) product IQOS ILUMA ONE, Wednesday, as part of its efforts to surpass KT&G and reclaim its No. 1 spot in the growing e-cigarette market.
IQOS ILUMA ONE is the latest smoke-free device unveiled by Philip Morris in three months after the introduction of IQOS ILUMA and IQOS ILUMA PRIME models last October.
Philip Morris Korea Managing Director Paik Young-jae said the launch of ILUMA ONE completes the ILUMA platform family and it will play a key role in putting the company back in the top position in domestic hnb product sales.
"The first two ILUMA models have received a good response from the market and if this continues, I am hoping that we will reclaim the leading position in the e-cigarette market here," Paik said.
Philip Morris has been trying to catch up with KT&G by selling the ILUMA series of products, according to Lee Hong-suk, director of commercial operations at Philip Morris Korea.
Since the launch of the IQOS device in 2017, Philip Morris Korea had maintained the No.1 spot in the domestic e-cigarette market for five years. However, KT&G beat Philip Morris to take over the market leader position in the first quarter of last year.
The IQOS ILUMA ONE's price is set at 69,000 won ($54.74), which is about 30 percent cheaper than the IQOS ILUMA.
The new device is made with an all-in-one lightweight design that can be held in one hand. A single charge can be used to smoke 20 tobacco sticks.
Like other IQOS ILUMA models, the IQOS ILUMA ONE uses Terea Smartcore sticks, which heat tobacco with an induction system adopted inside its body so that users don't have to clean any residue afterward.
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