bat south africa - Who we are

British American Tobacco South Africa is a part of the British American Tobacco Group of companies  which operates in more than 180 countries worldwide. 

In South Africa, the business in its present form was created following the global merger of Rothmans International, partly owned by the Rembrandt Group, and London-based British American Tobacco p.l.c.

The marriage saw the birth of one of the foremost fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses in the country. With more than 20 brands in our portfolio, we make the cigarette chosen by about nine in ten of the country’s six-and-a-half million adult smokers. We contribute over R12-billion in excise and VAT per year to the Government. These figures provide some sense of the scale of our organisation but, like any company, we are much more than a set of statistics. 

In 2004 we celebrated 100 years of existence in South Africa. Our success in the country was not achieved by accident. The company became a leading business from its inception in 1904 and we believe that we have retained many of the qualities that initially helped place us at the forefront of our industry. 
 
We believe there is real value embedded not only in how we run our business but in our ability to see the world as it really is; select, retain and develop employees; build relationships of trust with consumers, suppliers, distributors and partners; and manage high quality brands.

Key statistics

• BAT South Africa is the leading tobacco manufacturer in South Africa with a market share of more than 85% of the legal cigarette industry.
• We have five trade marketing regions across South Africa, with the head office based in Stellenbosch.
• We purchase over 90% of the annual South African tobacco crop for both local and export production.
• Our factory in Heidelberg produces about 27 billion cigarettes annually for domestic and international markets.
• Our company employs more than 2,500 people throughout South Africa. 
• We market more than 20 brands, including Dunhill, Kent, Peter Stuyvesant and Rothmans.