42-553: John Player & Sons , most often known simply as Player's , was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901 the company merged with twelve other companies to become a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain and Ireland. The company pioneered the advertising with trading (cigarette) cards. As a branch, Player's continued this practice (see below), most notably with
84-583: A blanket tobacco advertising ban was instituted in the Canadian Tobacco Act in 1988, Imperial created a new corporation, Player's Racing Ltd. , that was strictly an auto racing promotion company. This took advantage of an exemption in the Act that allowed tobacco companies to sponsor "cultural events" using the company's proper name instead of a brand name. Player's Ltd. advertising looked nearly identical to Player's cigarette packs, and given that it
126-547: A dispute over pension payments to employees, as seen in Imperial Group Pension Trust Ltd v Imperial Tobacco Ltd . In 1996, following a decision to concentrate on core tobacco activities, Hanson de-merged Imperial and it was listed as an independent company on the UK stock exchange. In 2003, Imperial acquired the world's then fourth-largest tobacco company, Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH of Germany:
168-511: A line of rolling tobacco in Canada, the UK, and several European countries. The rolling tobacco is typically portioned into 12.5, 25, and 50-gram bags. Rolling tobacco is available in the following varieties: In Ireland, Imperial Brands trade as John Player. The following John Player products are on the market in Ireland. In Sri Lanka, Player's is manufactured by Ceylon Tobacco Company and
210-489: A newly formed subsidiary named Imperial Tobacco Limited. In 1986, the company was acquired by the conglomerate Hanson Trust plc for £2.5 billion. Divestments during the period of ownership by Hanson included Courage Brewery to Elders , Golden Wonder to Dalgety , Finlays to Arunbhai J. Patel, the wholesaling arm of Sinclair & Collis to Palmer & Harvey, Imperial Hotels and Catering to Trust House Forte and Ross Frozen Foods to United Biscuits . This also led to
252-484: A series devoted to the association football in the 1930s. Nowadays the brands "Player" and "John Player Special" are owned and marketed by Imperial Brands and, especially in markets external to the UK, by British American Tobacco . In March 1820, William Wright set up a small tobacco factory in Craigshill , Livingston, West Lothian . This business expanded and earned Wright a comfortable fortune. John Player bought
294-821: A subsidiary, Imperial Brands Ventures, took a stake in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies which is licensed by the UK government to develop cannabis-based medicines. In November 2019, after searching for a new chairman since February, the company announced its senior independent director Thérèse Esperdy would take the role. In July 2020, Stefan Bomhard , the former chief executive of global automotive distributor Inchcape and former president of Bacardi Europe , became chief executive of Imperial Brands. In 2021, Imperial Brands opened an office in Hammersmith, West London. In 2021 Imperial Brands launched
336-789: Is available in the following varieties. John Player's brands are well known in motor racing from their long association with the Lotus Formula One team, the Forsythe Racing Champ Car team, and Norton motorcycle racing team. Ford introduced the John Player Special limited edition Capri, (known as the JPS) in March 1975. Available only in black or white, the JPS featured yards of gold pinstriping to mimic
378-603: Is now owned, and has been renovated by, Measurement Incorporated . Whereas American Tobacco sold its share of BAT in 1911, a divesture prompted by Supreme Court rulings in an anti-trust case, Imperial maintained an interest in British American Tobacco until 1980. In 1973, the Imperial Tobacco Company, having become increasingly diversified by acquisition of (amongst others) restaurant chains, food services and distribution businesses, changed its name to Imperial Group while tobacco products continued to be sold by
420-549: Is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Morris International , British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco and the world's largest producer of fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers . Imperial Brands has 30 factories worldwide and its products are sold in around 120 countries. Its brands include Davidoff , West , Golden Virginia , Drum and Rizla . Imperial Brands also have expanded their product range in recent years to include alternative nicotine products, including
462-621: The Norton F1 . In 1991 Norton again commercially declined and John Player withdrew sponsorship for a second time. The company also sponsored an influential series of celebrity lectures at the National Film Theatre between 1968 and 1973. Well over 100 international film stars took the stage to introduce screenings and discuss their career. The series was revived at the end of the 1970s as the Guardian Lectures. In
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#1732772454433504-801: The Tobacco Act was struck down as violating the Charter of Rights , was able to use Player's branding. The team was competitive and featured Canadian drivers Greg Moore , Patrick Carpentier , Alex Tagliani , and in 2003, Paul Tracy . Tracy would win the championship in 2003, just as a new Tobacco Act ban took full effect for auto racing in October 2003. The team would use a "GOODBYE, CANADA" theme for Tracy and Carpentier's final races and not have explicit Player's branding. John Player began sponsoring Norton motorcycle racing in November 1971. The racing
546-685: The blu vape brand , the Pulze and iD heated tobacco system, and the Zone X and Skruf nicotine pouches. Imperial Brands is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . Imperial Tobacco Canada , the Canadian subsidiary of British American Tobacco , has no relationship to Imperial Brands. The Imperial Tobacco Company was created in 1901, in response to
588-538: The budget , Player's launched a new, cheaper brand, "Player's No.10". Priced at 3 s 2 d (16 p ) for 20, it was the cheapest cigarette on the British market. A new factory (the 'Horizon' factory) was opened in the early 1970s on Nottingham's industrial outskirts, with better road access and more effective floor space, next to the headquarters of Boots the Chemists . On 15 April 2014, Imperial Tobacco announced that
630-568: The 1970s Player's operated a steamboat, Hero , for promotional purposes. Player's sponsored the Canadian Open tennis championship in the 1980s. From 1969 to 1987 John Player sponsored the John Player Sunday League for English county cricket clubs. Player's were one of the first UK tobacco companies to include sets of general interest cards in their packs of cigarettes. One of the first sets, produced in 1893,
672-690: The Formula 1 livery, gold-coloured wheels, and a bespoke upgraded interior of beige cloth and carpet trimmed with black. John Player's sponsorship of Team Lotus began with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf colours in the 1968 Tasman Series . It continued with the Lotus 49 and Lotus 72 in Formula One, changed to the black and gold John Player Special colours in 1972 , and ended in 1986 with the Lotus 98T , as
714-555: The Horizon factory would close in early 2016, bringing an end to cigarette and tobacco manufacture in Nottingham after over 130 years. The old factories in Radford, especially the cavernous No. 1 Factory which occupied the whole area between Radford Boulevard and Alfreton Road, bordered by Player Street and Beckenham Road, were gradually run down. The No. 2 Factory, facing onto Radford Boulevard with its distinctive clock (now plinthed in
756-644: The John Player and Sons collections (main ref. DD/PL). The archives at Liverpool Central Library hold records of the Ogden Branch (Ref. 380 OGD). The company's brands include: The Nottingham factory and the group's French factory in Nantes closed in 2016, with production moved to Eastern Europe. In May 2022, The Times reported that the company had lobbied politicians in Scotland. Ivan McKee ,
798-739: The Lorillard operations being acquired would be called ITG Brands LLC . The deal with Lorillard was completed on 12 June 2015, and as part of the deal, Greensboro became the location of the ITG headquarters. On 1 November 2018, ITG announced production would move from the former American Tobacco Company plant in Reidsville, North Carolina , built in 1892, and later expanded, to Greensboro by 2020. The plant made USA Gold , Sonoma, Montclair and Rave. In February 2016, Imperial changed its name to "Imperial Brands" to distance itself from tobacco. In 2018,
840-578: The Pulze and iD heated tobacco system in selected European markets. The company has also launched Zone X, an oral nicotine brand, in several European countries. In 2022 and 2023, Imperial Brands launched blu 2.0, an upgrade to its blu vaping device, in the UK and several other countries. The principal companies involved in setting up Imperial Tobacco were W. D. & H. O. Wills Limited and John Player & Sons of Nottingham . Bristol Archives holds extensive records of W D & H O Wills and Imperial Tobacco (Ref. 38169). Nottinghamshire Archives hold
882-656: The UK, whereas John Player Gold Leaf is manufactured by British American Tobacco for sale in markets external to the UK, and ranks as one of the best selling and most popular tobacco products in Pakistan. It is also marketed in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Arab States of the Persian Gulf . In South Asia, it is one of the biggest brands in the High category brand list. The JPS brand has also been re-positioned in
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#1732772454433924-467: The brand was mostly amongst the middle class and in the South of England. It was smoked in the north but other brands were locally more popular. Production continued to grow until at its peak in the late 1950s, Player's was employing 11,000 workers (compared to 5,000 in 1926) and producing 15 brands of pipe tobacco and 11 brands of cigarettes. In the UK in 1968, in response to an increase in tobacco duty in
966-588: The business in 1877. He had the Castle Tobacco Factories built in Radford, Nottingham , just west of the city centre. He had three factories built, but initially only one was used to process and pack tobacco. The other two blocks were rented out to lace manufacturers until the business had expanded enough to use the additional space. John Player died in December 1884 and for the next nine years
1008-449: The business was run by a small group of family friends until his sons, William Goodacre Player and John Dane Player, took over management of the firm in 1893. The business became a private limited company in 1895, with an issued share capital of £200,000. In 1901, in response to a serious competitive challenge from "Buck" Duke 's American Tobacco Company , a defensive merger of thirteen British tobacco manufacturers saw Player's merged into
1050-623: The closure of its long-running Horizon factory in Nottingham . The factory closed in 2016, marking the end of cigarette production in England. On 15 July 2014, Reynolds American agreed to buy Greensboro, North Carolina –based Lorillard Tobacco Company , for $ 27.4 billion. The deal also included the sale of the Kool , Winston , Salem , and blu eCigs brands to Imperial for $ 7.1 billion. In November 2014, Imperial said Commonwealth-Altadis and
1092-590: The company's fortunes declined as awareness of the health effects of tobacco increased, and during the 1980s five of the firm's Nottingham factories closed with the loss of 3,000 jobs. Its current workforce is eclipsed by larger service sector employers in the city, such as Experian and Queen's Medical Centre and the University of Nottingham . As of 2020, the Player's Navy Cut , Players and John Player Special (JPS) brands are manufactured by Imperial Brands in
1134-617: The deal added brands such as Davidoff , Peter Stuyvesant , and West to its portfolio. In 2007, Imperial Tobacco entered the United States tobacco market with its $ 1.9-billion acquisition of Commonwealth Brands Inc., then the fourth-largest tobacco company in the US. In February 2008, Imperial acquired the world's then fifth-largest tobacco company, Altadis , whose brands included Fortuna , Gauloises Blondes , and Gitanes . A number of factory closures were subsequently announced, including
1176-653: The joint venture. It built the Imperial Tobacco Company Building at Mullins, South Carolina , US, between 1908, and 1913. The company expanded the tobacco growing enterprises in the United States that WD & HO Wills had developed before the amalgamation of 1901. It also established its own leaf-buying organisation in the United States through its building, the Imperial Tobacco Warehouse, in Durham, North Carolina , which
1218-616: The last several years and is now a UK mid-price cigarette brand. As of 2020, John Player Special (JPS) sell the following cigarettes in the UK: They also sell a lower-cost product marketed under the JPS Players Brand: Also the following rolling tobacco in 30g and 50g pouches: In Canada, Player's is manufactured by Imperial Tobacco Canada and is available in the following varieties, in both regular and king size: Besides cigarettes, John Player & Sons also markets
1260-743: The long-running cigar factory in Bristol. Following the Scottish Parliament's decision in January 2010, to ban the display of tobacco products in shops, as well as the availability of tobacco vending machines in public buildings with effect from autumn 2011, Imperial Tobacco attempted to challenge the change in the law on the grounds that regulations of the sale goods rested with the Houses of Parliament in Westminster . However, this case
1302-536: The newly created Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland . The largest constituent of Imperial Tobacco, and major driver of the amalgamation, was W. D. & H. O. Wills and the new company was run for eight years from a suite of offices located in the Wills' branch premises until a new Imperial Tobacco head office was built in Bedminster , Bristol . As a constituent part of Imperial Tobacco, Player's
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1344-621: The price war in the British market promoted by "Buck Duke" 's American Tobacco Company . It amalgamated 13 British tobacco and cigarette companies: W.D. & H.O. Wills of Bristol (the leading manufacturer of tobacco products at that time), John Player & Sons of Nottingham , and 11 other independent family businesses. The other, smaller companies, involved in the amalgamation included Lambert & Butler , William Clarke & Son , Franklyn Davey, Edwards Ringer & Bigg, Hignett Brothers, Hignett's Tobacco, Adkins & Sons, Richmond Cavendish, D&J MacDonald, and F&J Smith. In 1902
1386-839: The printing and packaging firm, Mardon, Son & Hall was absorbed. In 1904, James & Finlay Bell Ltd was merged into the Stephen Mitchell & Son branch. The Company's first chairman was William Henry Wills of the Wills Company. In 1902, the Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company agreed to form a joint venture: the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd . The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other's domestic territory and to assign trademarks, export businesses, and overseas subsidiaries to
1428-459: The retail park on the site) and the No. 3 factory (which faced onto Churchfield lane) with its rooftop 'John Player & Sons' sign, were demolished in the late 1980s. The iron railings and gates onto Radford Boulevard from the present retail park are the ones that surrounded No. 2 Factory – the large gates (present vehicle access) were the entrance to the factory yard between No. 2 and No. 3 factories and
1470-542: The smaller gates were the pedestrian entrances to No. 2 factory itself. Player's still trades, but with a much-reduced workforce (down to about 700 employees due to increased efficiency) compared to the 20th century, when it was one of the Big Three employers associated with Nottingham, along with Boots the Chemists and the Raleigh Bicycle Company . Player's workforce peaked in the 1960s: subsequently
1512-692: The team switched to the Camel -sponsored yellow livery the following season. In Australia, JPS Team BMW competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship between 1981 and 1987 , with Jim Richards winning the series in 1985 and 1987. In 1981, BMW released a limited-edition road version of its 323i touring car in JPS colours to the Australian market and another in 1984. Imperial Tobacco Canada 's Player's brands also sponsored Canadian auto racing for decades. After
1554-498: Was Castles and Abbeys. These cards were generally produced in sets of 50 and have since become highly collectable. Other sets produced include Street Cries (cries of street vendors) in 1913 and 1916; Footballers (1926); Civil Aircraft (1935); Motor Cars (1936) and a Coronation Series in 1937. John Player & Sons issued more than 200 sets of cards and some were reprinted in the 1990s. In sports, Player's released several cards series, mostly association football collections . One of them
1596-534: Was dismissed on 30 September 2010 by Lord Bracadale in the Court of Session in Edinburgh . In 2011, Altadis USA Inc. said it would add to its Fort Lauderdale, Florida , headquarters and move Commonwealth Brands Inc. employees from Bowling Green, Kentucky . The company's name changed to Commonwealth-Altadis Inc. In 2013, Imperial opened a new global headquarters in Bristol. In April 2014, Imperial announced
1638-530: Was one of the few legal outlets for advertising, the company was extensively promoted both during race weekends and at other sporting events. Player's Racing promoted a number of Canadian drivers, including 1995 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar champion Jacques Villeneuve , whose Forsythe-Green Racing team carried a Player's Ltd livery. The team would later carry on in CART as Player's Forsythe Racing , which after
1680-477: Was successful and Norton produced a version of the Norton Commando in John Player colours to exploit it. However, Norton's NVT parent company commercially declined and John Player withdrew sponsorship in 1974. In the 1980s, Norton Motorcycles was revived and in 1988 John Player resumed racing sponsorship. The racing succeeded again and in 1990–91 Norton produced a road-going version of its RCW588 racer,
1722-540: Was the "Cup Winners" series, featuring FA Cup winning teams and the illustrated "Hints on association football" in 1934, where some football movements (kicks, passes, defensive tactics, etc.) were shown. Player's also released a rugby union series in 1926, and a cricket series in 1934. Imperial Brands Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc ) is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in London and Bristol , England. It
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1764-629: Was tightly controlled from Bedminster but as a manufacturer the branch retained its own identity, producing distinctive cigarette brands such as Navy Cut , No. 9, John Player Special, and Gold Leaf; loose tobacco brands such as No Name; and its distinctive logo of a smoking sailor in a navy-cut cap. Player's Medium Navy Cut was the most popular by far of the three Navy Cut brands (there was also Mild and Gold Leaf, mild being today's rich flavour). In January 1937, Player's sold nearly 3.5 million cigarettes (which included 1.34 million in London). The popularity of
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