VPZ opened a new store on July 31, its first since Covid-19 lockdowns began. The UK’s largest vaping retailer opened the shop in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, creating five new jobs.
Headquartered in Newbridge, Edinburgh, VPZ director Doug Mutter said the company has had to adapt to the new way of life following the huge change in the retail landscape.
“We are seeing the biggest change in the retail economy in living memory and we as a company have had to be adapt in what we can offer. We understand that not all of our customers are able to travel to our stores. The High Street is having to adapt to much smaller footfall,” he stated in a release. “That is why we have opened this new store within a more residential area to ensure we can still serve our customers, without requiring them to take excessive travel. We believe this maybe a longer-term change to the marketplace and we are investing and committing to serving local communities as best we can.”
Despite the retail sector facing huge challenges the company are seeing more smokers making the switch, with record numbers of quit attempts in 2020.
“Vaping represents a huge public health opportunity and the market will continue to grow as increasing numbers of smokers recognise its effectiveness in helping people to quit smoking,” stated Mutter. “Consumer education is crucial too and our knowledgeable staff are always available with advice and support that helps make it easy for smokers to make the switch and give up cigarettes once and for all.”
In an effort to help front-line workers quit combustible cigarettes, VPZ is donating £100,000 worth of products. VPZ, the UK’s largest vape retailer, said the initiative was started in order to show appreciation for these workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key workers including police officers, NHS staff and blue light card holders will all be able to benefit from free products as the company says thank you to the frontline people that were tackling the virus head on, according to a press note.
“It has been a long and difficult fight against this pandemic, and it is has been in large part the work of front line staff that we are beginning to see parts of the country reopen and a sense of normality return, said Doug Mutter, director for VPZ. “Now that we have been open for nearly a month, we had a discussion with the all our staff to see how we could give back to the people that have been supporting us, now just as a business but also in keeping us safe during the lockdown. So, we all agreed to offer free products to the front-line staff.”
Mutter says that there is no catch, and the initiative is just a simple thank you. Customers only need to visit VPZ’s website, register with their photo ID card. Customers will then be emailed a voucher that can redeem in any VPZ store.
There is a wide range of devices available from beginner devices to advanced mods.
“We have tried to cater for as many different types of vapers as we can. We know many front-line workers have wanted to quit smoking but not had the time or opportunity to test out devices to find the right one for them,” said Mutter. “”Our customers and each of their unique requirements are always top of mind, with that we’ve made sure that even on a free giveaway, customers can choose from a range of devices that will suit their specific needs.”
Mutter says the greatest challenge for many smokers is finding the right advice and guidance with vape stores being closed during lockdown. Many customers have turned back to smoking so it is critical for VPZ to offer as many options as possible to help them quit tobacco for good, said Mutter.
“Stop smoking services have also been slashed across the country and with us now re-open we have a lot of smokers who are looking to quit but are stuck without proper guidance,” he said. “We know that a lot of smokers have used the lockdown as a time to finally quit smoking, but front line workers have been very busy so we hope that our donation can go some way to helping any who do smoke an opportunity to use this offer for them to quit and our way of saying thank you.”
U.K. vapor industry representatives are hoping that the EU ban on menthol cigarettes that comes into force today will encourage more smokers to transition to less-hazardous vapor products.
The ban of menthol cigarettes comes from the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), banning all cigarettes and rolling tobacco with “characterizing flavor” other than traditional tobacco.
The ban originates from a range of tobacco control measures approved by the European Parliament in 2013, with revisions including mandating the banning of menthol cigarettes by 2022.
In the U.K. there are an estimated 1.3 million menthol cigarette smokers.
Research by the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, the largest trade domestic body representing the sector, shows that menthol vapor products sold by its retail and wholesale members represent an average of 16.5 percent of all sales and nearly double this number, at 30.75 percent, for manufacturers producing such products.
The data suggests that menthol cigarettes are used by up to 12.4 percent of smokers in England, while global sales in 2018 exceeded $80bn. Currently, some 14.4 percent of the adult population in England smoke and there are some 7m smokers across the UK.
Doug Mutter
“I think in normal circumstances this move could have had the potential to significantly reduce smoking rates in the U.K.,” said Doug Mutter, director of manufacturing and compliance at VPZ, a leading vapor company in the U.K.
“However, with vaping stores closed and stop smoking services shut, it remains to be seen how we can engage menthol smokers and encourage them to make the switch.
“This is the biggest change to tobacco law since plain packing was introduced.
“For the vaping industry it presents an opportunity to help smokers finally make the switch, and whilst that will be harder with stores still closed, we believe that vaping presents the best opportunity to stamp out cigarettes for good.
“VPZ has built a digital platform for advice and guidance on smokers switching to vaping for the first time as well as how to pick the best products to help them quit.
“We are expecting a growth in the number of new vapers in the U.K, so it was important to us to use our expert staff to help create a guide for menthol smokers looking to quit through vaping.
“From which device best suits your needs to what strength of nicotine is required, we have tried to cover as many questions as possible. We have even put together some starter kits covering all categories to help with any first-time decision as we appreciate the first step can be daunting, without the opportunity to visit one of our stores.
“It will be difficult for many people just now because vape stores are closed and the temptation to go back to traditional cigarettes is everywhere. We are talking about over one million people in the UK will now not have their menthol cigarettes available and we hope that they are beginning to research which stop smoking products can best help them quit.
“Our message to smokers across the country is that the best time to quit cigarettes is now.”
The vapor industry is suffering serious hardships due to closures caused by Covid-19.
By Timothy S. Donahue
Several countries have considered vape shops essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Countries such as Spain, France and New Zealand have allowed e-cigarette users to continue to have access to nicotine without returning to combustible cigarettes. In many countries such as the U.K. and the U.S., however, vape shops have been forced to close and many business owners say they may never be able to recover.
In the U.K., VPZ, the country’s largest vapor retailer, vowed to keep its shops open. On March 20, the company urged British leaders to follow the lead of other European countries and allow all 155 VPZ stores across the U.K. to be added to the list of essential businesses. That request was denied. On March 23, VPZ announced it would be closing all its locations. In an email, Doug Mutter, director of compliance and manufacturing for VPZ, said the company was disappointed with the lack of explanation from the government concerning the status of vapor retailers.
Doug Mutter | Photo: VPZ
“Other European nations had recognized the work vaping specialists do in reducing the stress on health services and [have] kept the local stores open,” he said. “We had expected this to be the case and had begun investing in new processes in order to manage our business in such an environment. However, without sufficient clarification and in the interest of keeping our staff and customers safe, we have made the decision to close all 155 stores … for the next three weeks.”
James Jarvis
James Jarvis owns four shops in the U.S. state of Ohio. Jarvis also heads the Ohio Vapor Trade Association (OHVTA), an industry advocacy group. He closed his Vapor Station locations in Clintonville, Columbus, Gahanna and Hilliard on March 23. He said that while the governor of Ohio has shown great empathy to Ohioans regarding the coronavirus, the OHVTA knew it needed to recommend that its members make consumers aware that a stay-at-home order or shutdown would be likely at some point, and all shop owners needed to inform customers.
“Many of the shops ran specials, extended hours … to make sure if something happened our consumer family would be well stocked up. I talked to members as well as looking at our own numbers, and over the last few weeks [during the increase in virus reporting], sales were definitely on the rise,” Jarvis told Vapor Voice. “The unfortunate day came on March 22 as an order was signed and a deadline for nonessential business [to close] was set for 11:59 p.m. [on] March 23.”
The total impact on vape shop closures in the U.S. will be hard to calculate, according to Jarvis. He says that if stores are forced to be closed for more than 14 days, many vapor consumers will get frustrated and turn back to cigarettes, which he says is a huge step backward for public health. “The longer we are closed, the more distant we will be to the consumer,” he explains. “This will also have a negative effect on our employees and our businesses as the uncertainty of how bills, rents and other necessities will be handled.”
Luckily for Ohioans, the state allows for online sales of vapor products. Many states, such as Utah, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington, have banned the online sale of vapor products. Jarvis says that the challenge is that even if a state allows for online sales, only online sales “will have a dramatic effect on conversion rates for smokers.” He says he worries about smokers using whatever products they can find at their local gas station or c-store and not getting the full education on the products they are using.
“Vape shops take the time to educate on the products, liquid options, safety and advocacy. With that element being gone, there will be too many opportunities that will be missed, and someone could wind up with a device or liquid that may not be the right thing, the right [nicotine] strength or will be operating the device unsafely,” he says. “In many states, the vape shop also educates on advocacy and any state with a ban or tax increases; it will now be harder to communicate those points to them as well. If the vape shops go away, the true heart and soul of the industry goes away and will be handed over to the very company [large tobacco companies] we are trying to destroy.”
Jarvis says the industry is also readying for premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submissions due to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 12. The FDA submitted a request to postpone the deadline to the Maryland judge who set the deadline, but as of this writing, no decision had been made.
“I am hopeful that the FDA will do the right thing, but we need to act as if they will not and continue our due diligence to successfully start and complete a PMTA. There is a group on Facebook called ‘PMTA Sharing’ that is an amazing resource for small manufacturers,” says Jarvis. “Char Owen and her husband are really going to great lengths to make starting and completing the necessary paperwork as easy and painless for all small manufacturers in that group. They are sacrificing a lot of their own personal time and finances and sharing with the group.”
Jarvis suggests that even if the Ohio leadership changes its mind and allows vape shops to open, there will still be additional challenges. For example, the early Chinese New Year and the outbreak of Covid-19 have made finding some hardware products produced in China more difficult. He explains that even though the Chinese factories are operating again, the virus started to spread in the U.S., and changes were made to customs with regard to shipping.
“We also had many other states issuing orders that had stoppage effects on shipping. There is definitely a strain on the flow of products right now. The one thing we have been seeing, which is amazing, is that stores are sharing products with other stores, [and] distributors are limiting quantities and working overtime, so everyone gets a little,” he says. “This is truly a community that looks out for one another. It’s great feeling like a part of a group of people that are selfless and want to make sure the consumer and our small businesses are protected at the end of the day.”
On the other side of the U.S., Burbank, California-based online vapor retailer ProVape says the vapor industry is going to continue to feel the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. In Shenzhen, China, the vapor manufacturing capital of the world, businesses have been allowed to resume operation if they have stringent measures to prevent further spread of the devastating virus (see “Sanitary Solution”).
There is still a massive problem with the timely shipment of supplies, according to Art Harutyunyan, a senior executive of ProVape. Wholesale vapor suppliers must wait for the coronavirus crisis to end before they can get a steady supply of vaporizer products. “We are constantly told that products are on backorder and are encouraged to stock up with vape hardware [coils, vape kits, pod systems, mods, tanks and disposable vape devices] to avoid any issues in coming months,” says Harutyunyan, adding that the coronavirus is creating a global problem in the vapor industry as manufacturers of vapor products will not be able to produce and deliver some products before coils, pods and other vapor hardware dwindle to a frighteningly low number in the U.S. and around the globe.
Bob, Patsy and Sean Anderson | Photo: Timothy S. Donahue
Moving farther west, Patricia Anderson, co-owner of Black Lava Vape (BLV) on the big island of Hawaii, says that as of March 22, their three stores were still open for business, but they stopped vaping in the shop and were only allowing three people at a time in the store. They were also offering curbside service and delivery in a limited area.
“Last week [week ending March 21] and over the weekend were probably some of the best days we have had in succession in quite some time. In the vaping world, I would say our products are like toilet paper … people are very afraid that we will run out [of product] sooner or later, or they will close us as a nonessential business, and they will have to go back to cigarettes,” explains Anderson. “To be quite honest, the THC scare [black market THC products causing pulmonary issues] and the always impending ban on flavors was more detrimental to us than the coronavirus [pandemic]. During the THC scare, I had to lay off half of my employees, cut store hours, cut employee hours, and we have been unable to pay ourselves.”
During the scare, BLV shelves became very hard to stock, and customers even supposed that BLV was closing, says Anderson. The shop went from having more than 10 full-time employees to five, and three are part-time. She says BLV e-juices are all made in the U.S., but their hardware comes from China, and they started seeing availability issues with wholesalers too.
“We found out [the other day] that two of our wholesalers are not processing any more orders, so that will definitely have an impact on competitive pricing,” Anderson explains. Then the hammer dropped. “Hawaii will be on lockdown starting March 26. I’m guessing we will be closing our doors as I don’t see the state considering us to be an essential business [they are currently allowed to stay open doing curbside service but are not labeled essential]. Our loyal vaping community will disagree, but we knew it was coming; 90 percent of our customers have been laid off [from their jobs].”
Jarvis says that the industry can’t lose hope. He says the industry needs to continue to stand together and fight for this life-saving industry that has already saved millions of lives from deadly traditional cigarettes. “This industry, as I have said before, is an amazing one to be a part of. We are on the right side of everything,” says Jarvis emphatically. “As long as we continue to work together, look out for each other, stay focused … we can do anything. Together we will be stronger and healthier to be there for the future.”
VPZ, the U.K.’s largest vapor product retailer, is closing its 155 stores.
The company originally expected the U.K. to follow the example of other European countries by allowing vapor stores to remain open to prevent ex-smokers from moving back to vaping. However, the U.K. has not clarified its stance on vape shops.
VPZ staff will continue to receive their full pay during the three-week lockdown.
“We are disappointed with the lack of clarification from the government regarding where vaping retailers stand,” said Doug Mutter, director of compliance and manufacturing for VPZ. “Other European nations had recognized the work vaping specialists do in reducing the stress on health services and kept the local stores open. We had expected this to be the case and had begun investing in new processes in order to manage our business in such an environment. However, without sufficient clarification and in the interest of keeping our staff and customers safe, we have [made] the decision to close all 155 stores as of Tuesday for the next three weeks.”
