The RJR Headquarters building (back left) in Winston Salem, NC was built prior to the Empire State Building, which was designed by the same architect.

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1874, is the second-largest tobacco company in the U. Winston-Salem is a city in the US state of North Carolina. As of the 2000 census the city population was 185776 in 2004 the city annexed an additional 17483 North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States Richard Joshua "RJ" Reynolds ( July 20, 1850 - July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common S. (behind Altria Group). Altria Group Inc ( (previously named Philip Morris Companies Inc RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. Reynolds American Inc ( is an American company whose holdings include R

Recent history

In 1987, a bidding war ensued between several financial firms to acquire RJR Nabisco. Finally, the private equity takeover firm, Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts & Co (commonly referred to as KKR) was responsible for the 1988 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. In Finance, private equity is an Asset class consisting of equity Securities in operating companies that are not Publicly traded on Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (commonly referred to as KKR) is a New York City -based Private equity firm that focuses primarily on late-stage Leveraged This was documented in several articles in The Wall Street Journal by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. These articles were later used as the basis of a bestselling book, Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, and then into a made-for-TV film. Barbarians at the Gate The Fall of RJR Nabisco is a 1990 book about the Leveraged buyout (LBO of RJR Nabisco, by investigative journalists Barbarians at the Gate is a made-for-TV movie based upon the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, about the Leveraged buyout As a result, in February 1989, RJR Nabisco paid executive F. Ross Johnson US$53,800,000 as part of a golden handshake clause, the largest such deal in history at the time, as severance compensation for his acceptance of the KKR takeover. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) F Ross Johnson OC (born 1931 is a Canadian businessman Born Frederick Ross Johnson in Winnipeg Manitoba, into a lower-middle-class family A golden handshake is a Clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive He used the money to open his own investment firm, RJM Group, Inc.

In 1998 the company was part of the Master Settlement Agreement. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement ( MSA) is an agreement originally between the four largest US Tobacco companies and the Attorneys General

In October 2002, the European Community accused R. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 J. Reynolds of selling black market cigarettes to drug traffickers and mobsters from Italy, Russia, Colombia and the Balkans. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America.

On July 30, 2004, R. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " J. Reynolds merged with the U. S. operations of British American Tobacco (operating under the name of Brown & Williamson). British American Tobacco Plc (, KLSE: BAT is a leading British -based Tobacco company Brown & Williamson was an American Tobacco company and subsidiary of the giant British American Tobacco, that produced several popular Cigarette A new parent holding company, Reynolds American Inc. Reynolds American Inc ( is an American company whose holdings include R , was established as part of the transaction.

In May 2006 former R. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. J. Reynolds vice-president of sales Stan Smith pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding the Canadian government of $1,200,000,000 (CDN) through a cigarette smuggling operation. Smith confessed to overseeing the 1990s operation while employed by RJR. Canadian-brand cigarettes were smuggled out of and back into Canada, or smuggled from Puerto Rico, and sold on the black market to avoid taxes. The judge referred to it as biggest fraud case in Canadian history. ^[1]

Marketing, sponsorships and criticisms

From 1972, R. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. J. Reynolds was a title sponsor of NHRA drag racing, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and until 1993, the IMSA Camel GT for sportscars. "NHRA" redirects here For other uses see NHRA (disambiguation. Drag racing is a competition in which objects compete to be the first to cross a set finish mark usually from a dead stop and in a straight line The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. The 1993 Camel GT Championship and Exxon Supreme GT Championship seasons were the 23rd season of the IMSA GT Championship Auto racing series The International Motor Sports Association (generally referred to as IMSA) is an American Auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton Georgia IMSA GT was a Sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Sports car racing is a form of circuit Auto racing with Automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels

The NHRA sponsorship lasted up to 2001, before a new governing rule stated the Master Settlement Agreement, restricting R. The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement ( MSA) is an agreement originally between the four largest US Tobacco companies and the Attorneys General J. Reynolds to one sponsorship of a sporting event; as a result, they chose NASCAR, which lasted up to 2003. The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup began on Saturday February 8 and ended on Sunday November 16.

In 1987, RJR resurrected the mascot for their Camel brand of cigarette, Joe Camel. Joe Camel (officially Old Joe) was the advertising Mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing Joe Camel, an anthropomorphic, cartoon camel with a head resembling male genitalia, was claimed to be a ploy to entice and interest the underaged in smoking. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects R. J. Reynolds maintained that Joe's "smooth character" was meant only to appeal to adult smokers.

This criticism was reinforced by a 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association ^[2] showing that more children 5 and 6 years old could recognize Joe Camel than could recognize Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone, (the Fred Flintstone character was also once used to sell R. JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general Medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Mickey Mouse is a comic animal Cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Frederick J "Fred" Flintstone is a Fictional character who originated in the animated Sitcom The Flintstones on J. Reynolds cigarettes) and alleged that the Joe Camel ad campaign was targeting children, despite R. J. Reynolds' contention that the campaign had been researched only among adults and was directed only at the smokers of other brands. In response to this criticism, RJR instituted "Let's Clear the Air on Smoking," a campaign of full-page advertisements consisting entirely of large type text, which denied the charges and declared that smoking is "an adult custom".

In late 2005, R. J. Reynolds opened the Marshall McGearty Lounge in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago as part of a marketing strategy to promote a brand of "superpremium" cigarettes and counteract local smoking bans in restaurants and cafes that took effect in 2006. The Marshall McGearty Lounge was established in 2005 in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago Illinois, by the R Neighborhoods Wicker Park RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company --> Wicker Park is a Chicago neighborhood northwest of the Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The lounge, which offers thirteen varieties of exclusive "hand-crafted" cigarette, along with alcohol and "light food", has been "well received" in the neighborhood and by the targeted upscale market, according to company officials. The lounge has since been closed due to Chicago indoor smoking restrictions were put in place.

The company planned to open a second location in Winston-Salem in the summer of 2007, but scrapped those plans within weeks of opening, citing the increasing number of smoking restrictions in public places by state and local governments. ^[3]

Brands

R. J. Reynolds brands include Camel, Kool, Winston, Salem, Doral, Eclipse, Export A and Pall Mall. Camel is a brand of Cigarettes that was introduced by American company R KOOL is a brand of Menthol cigarette, introduced in 1933, that has marketed itself towards the "sophisticated man" Winston Cigarettes are manufactured for or by RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company or its newer incarnation as RJR Nabisco and/or its affiliates Salem is brand of Cigarettes introduced in 1956 by the RJR as the first filter-tipped menthol cigarette Doral is a savings brand cigarette introduced in 1969 by RJ Reynolds Tobacco. Eclipse is a Cigarette brand that was developed and is marketed by R Export is a line of Tobacco products produced by JTI Macdonald and sold in Canada. Pall Mall Cigarettes are a brand of cigarettes produced by R J Brands still manufactured but no longer receiving significant marketing support include Barclay, Belair, Capri, Carlton, GPC, Kamel, Lucky Strike, Misty, Monarch, More, Now, Tareyton, Vantage, and Viceroy. ‎ Capri is a Brand of Cigarette manufactured by R J Reynolds. Lucky Strike is a famous Brand of American Cigarettes often referred to as "Luckies" Tareyton is a brand of cigarettes originally manufactured by the American Tobacco Company. Vantage is a brand of American cigarettes manufactured by the R Viceroy Cigarettes are made by Brown & Williamson, which was owned by British American Tobacco, and since 2004 by Reynolds American Inc The company also manufactures certain private-label brands. Five of the company's brands are among the top ten best selling cigarette brands in the United States, and it is estimated that one in three cigarettes sold in the country were manufactured by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In 2006 R. J. Reynolds acquired the rights to the smokeless tobacco products Kodiak and Grizzly dip. Kodiak is a brand of Dipping tobacco manufactured by Conwood Company a U Grizzly tobacco is a Dipping tobacco (a tobacco Snuff product marketed as smokeless tobacco Dipping tobacco, also known as American moist snuff or spit tobacco, is a form of smokeless Tobacco.

Facilities

The company's headquarters are located in the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem. Built in 1929, the 20-story building was built by the same architects (Joshua Edwards and Chad Edwards) who later designed the Empire State Building in New York City. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco Skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street The City of New York

R. J. Reynolds' largest plant, Tobaccoville, a 2 million square foot (190,000 m²) facility constructed in 1986, is located in the town of Tobaccoville, North Carolina near Winston-Salem.

The company's Whitaker Park plant, located in Winston-Salem, was built in 1961 and is about 1 million square feet (90,000 m²).

Macon manufacturing, located in Macon, Ga. , resides in a 1. 4 million square foot (130,000 m²) facility built in 1974. This manufacturing plant was formerly known as Brown & Williamson, which was purchased by Reynolds and eventually closed in 2006.

The company also has tobacco-sheet manufacturing operations in Chester, Va. , and Winston-Salem; leaf operations in Wilson, N. C. ; tobacco-storage facilities in Blacksburg, S. C. and Richmond, Va. ; and a significant research-and-development facility in Winston-Salem.

Among these facilities, R. J. Reynolds employs approximately 6,800 people.

R. J. Reynolds' subsidiary R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Foreign Sales Corporation is established in the British Virgin Islands to optimize its tax liability.

References

External links

• Official site