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Nettavisen has focused in recent weeks on border trade, where it is partly very advantageous to save on both food, alcohol and tobacco.
Swedish snus is one of the most economical things on a trip to Sweden. Which, in many cases, is cheaper to buy in a store in Sweden than in the absence of tax.
Thus, for example, one package per serving costs NOK 90-100 in Norwegian stores, the price is about half in Sweden.
Border trade can quickly become expensive
But traveling to Sweden by car is so expensive that the economy is far from certain.
As a result, a separate sector has been created, which attempts to exploit high Norwegian prices by selling cheaper snus online.
But unlike confectionery stores that send goods without charge up to NOK 350 per post in Norway, several Swedish Swedish snus companies have established themselves in Norway with Norwegian companies.
Snus.com, Snuslageret and SnusHjem all came to Norway. In addition to the Norwegian tobacco specialist, M Sørensen also sells online. The prices are relatively similar in the different online stores, and it takes above all 15-30 NOK to save per box of snus.
The online shop of Norwegian tobacco specialist M Sørensen offers about the same choice and price for snus as Swedish players based in Norway.
Robust but high margins in stores
Like smoke, snus is a product with high special taxes. In 2019, the tax of NOK 105 plus VAT per 100 grams – a total of NOK 131.25.
The amount of snus varies considerably between different products, but in a "normal" General No1 with snus in bulk, it is 42 grams. This means that the tax on pure tobacco is NOK 55.
For portions of snus, it is usually well under half the amount of product, and the costs are then reduced.
15-30 NOK cheaper
Specialty online stores sell General No1 at around NOK 86. If it is subtracted from NOK 55 in tobacco tax, there remains NOK 31 per box, of which 6.20 VAT.
The menu also sells snus online – at the same price as in the store.
In the remaining 25 crowns, online stores will cover both purchases, free delivery, salaries and operating costs.
For comparison, Menu and Colonial.no take respectively 104 and 102 crowns for the same package. The special charges are the same.
The price difference is slightly larger on many portion packs, typically 25 crowns.
– Big volume, low cost
Nettavisen spoke with Markus Lindblad communications manager Snus, who is behind the Snus store, to find out how this is possible.
– What can you sell snus at a price as low as that of stores, on a product that is very expensive?
– The secret lies in the large volumes of snus we sell. We achieve good profitability thanks to low fixed costs and large volumes. Kiwi has more than 600 stores in Norway, while we only have one. It makes a big difference, says Lindblad.
According to Lindblad, they have achieved a turnover of about 500 million NOK annually and are not the only ones on the market.
Can not use the limit of 350 crowns
Previously, there was a fairly large "border trade" with sweets, with Swedish online stores sending sweet products to Norway just below the clearance of NOK 350.
According to Lindblad, snuff shops can not use the same loopholes.
– Snuslageret is a Norwegian company that respects Norwegian law. Because it is not allowed to sell Swedish tobacco products to Norwegian consumers via e-commerce, we do not do it. We want to take consumers and market shares of the Swedish-Norwegian border trade, he says.
Before the introduction of new rules, tobacco boxes in Norway put an end to the colorful design of boxes.
Paul Weaver (Media House Nettavisen)
One of the reasons for the ban on the sale of Swedish products is the new Gusje green snus boxes with neutral design ordered in Norway last year.
– We estimate that with the price difference of about NOK 20 per box, more Norwegians will buy online rather than go to the border. It serves both Norwegians, the Norwegian state and the environment.
Snus is a product with an age limit of 18, and age control on the Internet has always been very difficult. Lindblad denies that this is a challenge for them.
– We are aiming for 100% age control when, with Klarna, we have developed a function to verify personal identity, address, credit card number and verification by mobile BankID.
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