Reaction mixed to Philip Morris name change

Adam Geller

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 10:03 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Philip Morris will try to clear the air -- with a fresh, new name.

The tobacco, food and beer conglomerate, which has labored to convince the public it is about much more than cigarettes, said late Thursday it will shed a corporate name long associated with the Marlboro Man and the women of Virginia Slims ads.

Instead, Philip Morris Companies Inc. will dub itself Altria Group Inc. (pronounced Al-Tree-Uh), as soon as shareholders approve, the New York-based company said.

The new name will clear up confusion between the parent company and its tobacco operations, and better reflect its growth into a company that makes and sells products including Nabisco cookies, Miller beer and Kraft foods, chairman and chief executive Geoffrey C. Bible said.

"We are not the same family of companies we were just a few years ago," Bible said in a written release. "The Nabisco acquisition and the Kraft initial public offering are the most recent evidence of our growth and evolution."

Industry analysts had mixed reactions to the change.

"The fact that they're changing the name suggests they believe there's a negative associated with the name. I don't believe there's any negative associated with the name," said Martin Feldman, who tracks Philip Morris for Salomon Smith Barney. "I think the difficulties the company faces are on the litigation and public policy front and I don't think the change of name is going to make any difference."

But David Adelman, an analyst for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said the name change was a logical extension of the company's effort to reshape its image and that it might help in that cause.

"It's hard to make an argument you're more than a tobacco company when you have a name people associate with tobacco," Adelman said.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said the name change won't rectify the company's association with cigarettes.

"Philip Morris is changing its name because it is unwilling to change its harmful business practices," the anti-smoking group said.

Philip Morris said it will retain that name for its U.S. and international tobacco subsidiaries.

The new corporate moniker is a derivative of a Latin word, "altus," which means to "reach higher," the company said.

But the final word on the new name will be up to shareholders, who will be asked to vote on it at the Philip Morris' annual meeting, in April of next year.

Shares of Philip Morris were up 41 cents to close at $47.99 on the New York Stock Exchange, and were up another 10 cents in extended trading. The name change was announced after the markets closed.