| Type | Public (NYSE: LO) S&P 500 Component |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tobacco |
| Founded | 1760 |
| Headquarters | Greensboro, NC, U.S.A. |
| Revenue | $5.23 billion USD (2009) |
| Operating income | $1.54 billion USD (2009) |
| Net income | $948 million USD (2009) |
| Employees | 2,700 (2010) |
| Website | Lorillard.com |
Lorillard Tobacco Company is an American tobacco company marketing cigarettes under the brand names Newport, Maverick, Old Gold, Kent, True, Satin, and Max. Lorillard is a member of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.[1]
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The company is named for Pierre Abraham Lorillard, who founded the company in 1760. In 1899, the American Tobacco Company organized a New Jersey corporation, called the Continental Tobacco Company, that took a controlling interest in many small tobacco companies. By 1910, James Buchanan Duke controlled Lorillard and the American Tobacco Company even as it kept its original name. In 1911, the U.S. Court of Appeals found the American Tobacco Company "in restraint of trade," and issued a Dissolution Decree to the American Tobacco Company, which created the opportunity for Lorillard to become an independent company again.[2][3]
In 1925, Lorillard experienced great transition as Benjamin Lloyd Belt became president. Having been with the company since 1911, Belt made some decisions that made the company profitable. He began to promote the Old Gold brand instead of Beech-Nut.[4], using such tactics as Old Gold on Broadway and sponsoring Artie Shaw's program on CBS Radio from November 20, 1938 until November 14, 1939. Belt was still president when he died in 1937.[5]
Loews Corporation purchased Lorillard in 1967.
Lorillard Tobacco Co. opened a new cigarette plant on East Market St. in Greensboro, NC in 1956, moving cigarette manufacturing from Jersey City, New Jersey and Richmond, VA and in 1997, the firm's headquarters to Greensboro from New York, New York.[6] The firm also manufactured cigarettes in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1997, Lorillard was one of four entities to initiate negotiations leading to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between "Big Tobacco" and 46 U.S. states.
Loews created the Carolina Group as a holding company for its tobacco assets in 2002; it proceeded to sell a minority stake in Carolina on the New York Stock Exchange. Carolina was controlled by Loews until May 10, 2006, when Loews Corporation sold 15 million shares of Carolina Group, lowering its holding from a controlling 53.7% to a plurality 46.3%.[7] The sale is valued at approximately $740 million.
In 2008, Lorillard Tobacco was entered into a separation agreement with its parent company Loews, and became an independent publicly traded company.
In order to comply with FDA regulations, Lorillard had until June 22, 2010, to rebrand tobacco products marketed as "Lights", "Ultra-Lights", "Medium", "Mild", "Full Flavor", or similar designations to belie the false impression that some tobacco products are comparatively safe.
In December 2010, a Boston jury returned a $151 million dollar verdict against Lorillard Tobacco Company for giving out free samples of cigarettes to children in urban housing projects.[8] The plaintiff, Marie Evans, was nine when she first received these samples, according to documents filed by her attorneys. She died of lung cancer before trial.[9]
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