In a move to no doubt bolster their presence in the Asian Market, Swisher Internatonal and Drew Estate Tobacco Company have named Asia Marketing Services (AMS) as an Independent Sales Representative for the Asian domestic and duty-free market. AMS is a company based in Taipei, Taiwan and is headed up by Hans Rijfkogel. The company will provide sales representation in 17 countries throughout Asia.
In a press release, Alex Goldman, Vice President of International Business Development said, “The international marketplace holds tremendous growth opportunities for Swisher and Drew Estate. As the two companies have been able to combine resources in specific geographies following the acquisition of Drew Estate last year, we have seen an almost immediate increase in the number of retailers carrying our brands and the number of consumers smoking our product.”
Joe Augustus, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs, added “The Asian region has been a growing market for Swisher for several years, and we have set some ambitious goals for its growth. With the addition of the Drew Estate portfolio of products, it made sense to add a resource located in the region to better service our customers, and keep them informed of our growing product mix. With over 20 years of selling experience in the region, we feel Hans and his team are the perfect representatives to help further our goals.”
“When I started AMS the goal was to build solid relationships with a small group of prominent manufacturers in order to represent a well rounded portfolio of quality products. Adding both Swisher International and Drew Estate to our mix has allowed us to reach that goal. I am excited to be a part of the Swisher/Drew Estate family and look forward to great success in the future,” stated Hans Rijfkogel, Director of Asia Marketing Services.
Asia Marketing Services will represent Swisher and Drew Estate in the following domestic and duty-free markets: China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, India, and Japan. For Japan, AMS will represent Swisher only.