Getsnus and Northerner

[Northerner.com]

Just would like to continue on the talk about our take over of Getsnus which Fredrik allreday has done.
We got the possibility because we allready have a US warehouse and that we will follow the Pact Act. We are thinking long turn as we always have done to serve our customers the best way we can. We are in a tough time now with all the preperations for the Pact Act and new FDA regulations.
- We have bought a labeling machine to be able to follow the new 22nd of June FDA Warning label requirements.
- We have asked our suppliers to register their brands at FDA before the 22nd of June and it seems like all the brands from Swedish Match, Skruf, TillCe, V2 and Gotland will be ready. The rest - JTI, BAT, Gajane and Gellivare have taken the decision not to register - we will therfore not be able to import their brands to our US warehouse after 22nd of June and will therfore not be able to sell inside the US.
- We have filed for tax license in all states to be able to start paying local taxes according to Pact Act.
- We will soon start to distribute snus to US retail stores in the North East, Kentucky and probably more in other states - we will update this on our websites and tell where you can buy it.
- With the Pact Act we will work to keep the prices down as much as we can with negotiating lower shipping prices with UPS US domestic shipments and talks with suppliers.

At the end of the day we want to do everything right - according to the US legislation - and on the same time offer our customers the best possible service because we are in it for the long run, the love of Snus and giving people who smoke a better alternative.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Frank

[danielan]

Thank you for the very informative update!

It's reassuring to hear this from you.

I'm particularly glad to hear that Gotland and TillCe will be registered with the FDA!

[socal70xr7]

getsnus was ups shipping fairly cheap with ground and offering free shipping over $50. Are you going to do the same?

[GoVegan]

I am impressed by Northerner's actions. I have heard that the tobacco licenses can be expensive to purchase in some states like mine. I do hope that F&L changes its mind and registers Granit with the FDA. I am just curious about that process. Is it expensive to register a product with the FDA?

[tom502]

Here's my question:
Will you be able to sell your nasal snuffs listed on Northerner(the Wilson's, F&T, Athertons, etc) to the USA after PACT? And, will you make these available on the Getsnus US site? Thanks.

[rickcharles606]

I am impressed by Northerner's actions. I have heard that the tobacco licenses can be expensive to purchase in some states like mine. I do hope that F&L changes its mind and registers Granit with the FDA. I am just curious about that process. Is it expensive to register a product with the FDA?

California's licensing process is a nightmare, and it is quite costly. Many states it doesn't cost anything though. Here's a funny one for ya, Hawaii cost $2.50, lol
As to registering a product with the FDA?? I'm not sure it actually costs anything, but I'll defer to Frank or Fred on this because I'm not sure.

[whalen]

No free shipping, and a matter of fact, after saying they would ship the existing backorders, they just sent me an Email that I now have to resubmit my order due to credit processing problems. That is at the new (higher) prices and no free shipping. They have offered a one time 15% discount. Here is the email.

"As of yesterday (May 11th) GetSnus.com is operated by Northerner Scandinavia AB / Northerner Scandinavia Inc. We are currently in the middle of making the transition to a new e-store system and, as such, you may encounter a few problems. We deeply apologize for any lack of communication during this change but this was simply not up to us do decide.

If you have a pending back order, we will unfortunately have to ask you to place your order again as the former operators of GetSnus had the policy of not charging your card until the item was actually in stock. Since we understand this is an inconvenience for you we will give you a coupon which will grant you a 15% discount on up to $500 on your order (max discount $75). The coupon can be found below and is valid until May 31st."

Not what I was told just yesterday by Fredrik. I am on the fence, was a large order, placed 4/23. Pain in the ass, feel caught up in a corporate cluster****, Buysnus?

[Fredrik_Northerner]

Whalen, yes, I spoke too soon yesterday which I apologize for. We simply didn't get access to the order amounts of your previous order which I was informed we would. This means we don't know how much more expensive (or inexpensive) the back orders were compared to placing a new one. We did an estimate however and landed at 15%. If you have your previous order confirmation from GetSnus still available I'll see to it you won't be charged more than your initial order (as well as some complimentary freebies).

No free shipping, and a matter of fact, after saying they would ship the existing backorders, they just sent me an Email that I now have to resubmit my order due to credit processing problems. That is at the new (higher) prices and no free shipping. They have offered a one time 15% discount. Here is the email.

"As of yesterday (May 11th) GetSnus.com is operated by Northerner Scandinavia AB / Northerner Scandinavia Inc. We are currently in the middle of making the transition to a new e-store system and, as such, you may encounter a few problems. We deeply apologize for any lack of communication during this change but this was simply not up to us do decide.

If you have a pending back order, we will unfortunately have to ask you to place your order again as the former operators of GetSnus had the policy of not charging your card until the item was actually in stock. Since we understand this is an inconvenience for you we will give you a coupon which will grant you a 15% discount on up to $500 on your order (max discount $75). The coupon can be found below and is valid until May 31st."

Not what I was told just yesterday by Fredrik. I am on the fence, was a large order, placed 4/23. Pain in the ass, feel caught up in a corporate cluster****, Buysnus?

[tom502]

Here's my question for Northerner/Getsnus:

Will you be able to sell your nasal snuffs listed on Northerner(the Wilson's, F&T, Athertons, etc) to the USA after PACT? And, will you make these available on the Getsnus US site? Thanks.

Also, since you'd be "in the know", I'd think, since Northerner is going through all this with Getsnus and Pact act, FDA, etc, will the other Swedish online shops be able to continue to sell their items to the US just like always did(pre-Pact)?

[AtreyuKun]

Just as long as we have somewhere to buy snus after June 22, I'll be happy. I'd love to be able to buy a can of General White at a gas station in my hometown in Alabama. Not convinced that will ever happen, so as long as Swedish snus is still available at a reasonable price, I'm good. Despite what my freezer and my smile may say, I hate having to stock up and hoard my snus like a crazy person.

[LaZeR]

Damn. Where have I been?

Anyhoo. Best wishes Northerner. Hope you can keep the prices reasonable and keep as much selection as possible. = My only real fears with a ONE company show/take-over.

/Peace

[justintempler]

I don't know if this is a GetSnus issue or not.
Swedish Match's snus was being sold at 600+ (?) mostly cigar shops and seeing how Swedish Match owned Cigars International and GetSnus, I assume(?) order fufillment was handled through GetSnus/CigarsInternational.

How does Northerner's aquisition of GetSnus and it's own planned snusdistribution.com plans affect the up until now marketing of snus through the exisitng 600+ cigar stores?
Are these B&M stores going to be handled by Northerner or does SMNA have a seperate marketing and warehouse to service these existing accounts?

[Northerner.com]

At the moment we are unaware if the nasal snuff producers have registered their brands with FDA, but we will find out. If they have not we will not be able to sell nasal snuff after the 22nd of June. Regarding Swedish Match distribution plan to retail stores we don't know anything more than you do. Our snus distribution of Thunder, Gotlands and TillCe will be completely seperated from theirs...

[chadizzy1]

....or does SMNA have a seperate marketing and warehouse to service these existing accounts?

Justin, I just snapped this pic this morning, it's the bottom of a General Mint can.

[rickcharles606]

Justin, I just snapped this pic this morning, it's the bottom of a General Mint can.

Northerner's U.S. distribution to brick and mortars has nothing to do with Swedish Match's existing distribution network. We will be distributing in the North East, Kentucky and other select markets, for now. We will be looking to expand that distribution in the future and I will let Frank and/or Fred discuss more about that.