Hello Bigboss! Have you ever encountered a Pod device or other products manufactured by a company called JUUL? Or maybe you are among those who use JUUL products? The bad news is, JUUL is no longer active in the e-cigarette market in Indonesia.

Recently, JUUL announced that its company is no longer producing devices and other products for Indonesia, meaning JUUL has stopped production in Indonesia. But is it true that JUUL plans to exit the Indonesian market? Let's read this news to the end.

September 2019 marked the beginning of JUUL Labs officially entering the Indonesian market, opening its first retail store in Cilandak, South Jakarta. Then, one year and one month later, JUUL had to say goodbye to the Indonesian market. According to several parts of the policies made by JUUL Labs, JUUL Labs ultimately decided to exit the European and Asian markets.

As for Indonesia itself, JUUL Labs will cease all its e-cigarette distribution networks in our beloved country. Based on the official JUUL Labs Indonesia website, the official distribution of all JUUL products in the country will stop in November 2020.

JUUL wrote, “Starting November 2020, JUUL Labs in Indonesia will stop accepting new orders for JUUL Devices and POD products via the e-commerce site juul.id. For customer support, please visit support.juul.id to learn more.”

JUUL's departure from the Indonesian market has also been confirmed by the Indonesian Personal Vaporizer Association (APVI). JUUL Labs Indonesia has also left the Alliance of Indonesian Electronic Entrepreneur (APPNINDO), an alliance that was only officially established around February 2020. All JUUL Labs Indonesia employees who were part of APPNINDO have been laid off.

“The step taken by JUUL was beyond our expectations. We actually hoped that JUUL could work hand in hand with us in efforts to grow new vapers,” said Garindra Kartasasmita, Secretary General of the Indonesian Personal Vape Association (APVI).

Yes, JUUL Labs itself once had the ambition to fight cigarette smoke in Asia, by providing an alternative for adult smokers. However, time has now told a different story; before its noble aspirations could be realized, JUUL has exited the Indonesian market.

Garindra understands and respects JUUL's decision, and believes that the decision was not made solely based on domestic sales. According to Garindra, JUUL had a market share of about 5 percent in Indonesia during its presence in the country. Garindra believes that JUUL's departure is a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a 50 percent decrease in overall vape liquid demand in Q2 2020 compared to the first 3 months of 2020.

Previously, as reported by Reuters, JUUL Labs CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said that his company would carry out massive workforce efficiency worldwide in September 2020. In addition, JUUL would also withdraw its presence from several European and Asia-Pacific markets to streamline cash flow.

This was done after the valuation of JUUL Labs Inc. plummeted 16.67 percent to USD 10 billion at the end of October 2020. In comparison, JUUL Labs' valuation at the end of 2019 reached USD 12 billion, which is only one-third of the value of Altria's acquisition of JUUL shares at the end of 2018, which was USD 38 billion.

“Today’s valuation is not a surprise. I expect other investors will also come to a lower valuation that factors into our recent restructuring,” Crosthwaite said in a memo.

So, that's the news about JUUL's departure from Indonesia. In addition, the vape market in Indonesia has started to grow and develop, one of which is Vapeboss. Vapeboss is the most complete and trusted vape store since 2014, so your vape needs are definitely available there. Just visit the nearest retail store and you can find a variety of vape products.

Hopefully, this article can provide useful information. Always stay safe while vaping, Keep Calm and Vape Like a Boss. Don't forget to always comply with health protocols during the current pandemic. Have a nice day, Bigboss!