From the history of cigarette brands: Rothmans.

The company was founded in 1890 by Louis Rothman as a small tobacco store on Fleet Street in London. Business was quite successful, in a dozen years a tobacco stall of Louis turned into a solid store in the famous Pall Mall, in the central part of London. The reputation was impeccable, both the company and the products. And after just 15 years of existence, the company, then Rothmans, received a royal warrant from King Edward VII. Since then, packs of Rothmans cigarettes have always carried the familiar coat of arms.

In the early 1950s, Rembrandt Tobacco appeared on the horizon. As I recall, in the 1950s, tobacco corporations were in full swing, and for some brands it ended badly and they vanished forever into the mainstream. But Rothmans managed to survive and when in 1954 Rembrandt Tobacco took the controlling interest in the company, the brand didn`t cease to exist and it grew. And it developed as a top brand.

Separately, it should be said about Rembrandt Tobacco Company, they have played an important role in the survival of many brands known to this day. From early 1950s to late 1960s Rembrandt Tobacco has been actively gathering the top British brands under its wings. So in 1958, after Rothmans, Carreras became an asset of the company, and in 1967 the controlling stake of Alfred Dunhill.

In January 1996, the Rembrandt Group merged with another tobacco giant, Richemont. The merger led to the birth of Rothmans International, the cigarette brand of the same name.

Before the turn of the century, things weren’t going so badly, even with the anti-tobacco company growing worldwide. But in 1999, Rothmans International was acquired by British American Tobacco, an international corporation. “Optimization” from BAT brought the closure of Rothmans Spennymoor and Darlington production facilities, in 2000 and 2001. All Rothmans International production was concentrated in a single plant in Southampton.

Now Rothmans is still produced, although it is a completely different cigarette. But what can you do? The spirit of the times…

Interesting fact from Rothmans history: in 1960–70-ies the brand was so popular in Malaysia, that in Petaling Jaya city one of the major traffic circles was named after the brand — “Rothmans Roundabout”.

And Rothmans is also remembered even by non-smokers)) It’s all about actively sponsoring sporting events. The list of “good deeds” is really impressive, here are just a few of them: from 1982 to 1987. Porsche team in Le Mans 24-hour races; Opel Ascona 400 team in 1982 and Porsche 911 team in 1984 in RS rally races; Porsche team in Paris-Dakar rally in 1986; from 1985 to 1993 Honda team in Formula 1 Grand Prix; from 1994 to 1997 Williams team in Formula 1; Allan Moffat Racing team in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship; Mazda RX-7 team in the 1987 WTCC; in 1972 Rothmans sponsored the British Olympic team, and from 1970 to 2002 the Rothmans Football Yearbook newsletter.