Sampoerna

Sampoerna, formally PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk, is one of Indonesia's largest tobacco manufacturers and a major producer of kretek, the clove-flavoured cigarette category associated with the Indonesian market. The business traces its origins to 1913, when Liem Seeng Tee began producing Dji Sam Soe cigarettes in Soerabaia, the colonial-era name for present-day Surabaya. The company's later Sampoerna family identity came from Liem Seeng Tee's adoption of Sampoerna, an Indonesian name derived from the Dutch spelling of a word meaning perfection, during the 1930s. The company developed through a mixture of family management, product repositioning and modernization. After Liem Seeng Tee died in 1956, his two daughters assumed responsibility for the business, while his two sons pursued separate tobacco activities. A shift toward white cigarettes placed the company under severe financial pressure. In 1959, Liem Swie Ling returned from Bali, where he had been operating a kretek factory, and redirected the business toward its established hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe product. This recovery helped restore the company's connection with the kretek segment. Sampoerna A Hijau was introduced in 1968, and by the middle of the 1970s the business was reportedly producing more than one million cigarettes per day with approximately 1,200 employees. During the 1970s, Liem Swie Ling began transferring operational responsibility to his son Liem Tien Pao, widely known as Putera Sampoerna. Under Putera's leadership, the company expanded and modernized its operations. A significant product milestone came on 19 October 1990 with the launch of Sampoerna A Mild, a white-paper filter cigarette that became one of the company's best-known offerings. Michael Joseph Sampoerna, Putera's son, became president director in June 2001. Philip Morris International completed the acquisition of 97.95% of the company in May 2005. Sampoerna continued to operate as an Indonesian listed tobacco company while becoming part of Philip Morris International's global corporate group. Its portfolio remains centered on Indonesian combustible tobacco, particularly machine-made and hand-rolled kretek products. The company has also operated manufacturing facilities in multiple Indonesian locations, allowing production to be distributed beyond its Surabaya base. The company has faced structural and operational challenges. In 2014, it closed factories in Lumajang and Jember and reportedly dismissed approximately 4,900 employees amid declining demand for hand-rolled kretek as consumers shifted toward machine-made products. In 2020, factories in Rungkut, East Java, were temporarily closed after two workers died during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sampoerna has also attracted criticism over the presentation of corporate social responsibility activity during the 2010 Mount Merapi eruption, with observers questioning the prominence of branded vehicles and uniforms used by relief teams. Sampoerna remains an active Indonesian tobacco business and a publicly traded company associated with Philip Morris International.

Sampoerna's history begins in 1913, when Liem Seeng Tee started producing Dji Sam Soe cigarettes in Soerabaia, now Surabaya. The product became the foundation of a family tobacco enterprise whose later identity was built around the Sampoerna name. During the 1930s, Liem Seeng Tee adopted Sampoerna as his Indonesian family name, using a form associated with the idea of perfection; the name subsequently became the company's principal identity. Following Liem Seeng Tee's death in 1956, management of the company was taken up by his two daughters, while his two sons operated separate tobacco businesses. The family's strategic direction initially shifted toward white cigarettes. That move weakened the business and brought it close to bankruptcy. In 1959, the youngest son, Liem Swie Ling, returned to Surabaya from Bali, where he had been running a kretek factory. He sought to restore the company by returning production to the hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe cigarette and to the clove-cigarette category in which the business had its strongest heritage. The recovery was followed by product expansion. Sampoerna A Hijau was launched in 1968. By the mid-1970s, the company was making more than one million cigarettes per day and employed about 1,200 people, according to the referenced account. During that decade, Liem Swie Ling began handing operational responsibility to his second-eldest son, Liem Tien Pao, who was better known as Putera Sampoerna. Putera modernized the business and expanded its operations, helping prepare it for the scale and competitive conditions of the late twentieth-century Indonesian tobacco industry. On 19 October 1990, Sampoerna introduced Sampoerna A Mild. The launch added a prominent filtered, white-paper cigarette to a portfolio historically associated with hand-rolled kretek. The product became a major part of the company's modern brand identity. Putera's son, Michael Joseph Sampoerna, became president director in June 2001, continuing the family's management role. A major ownership transition occurred in May 2005, when Philip Morris International completed the purchase of 97.95% of Sampoerna. The transaction placed the Indonesian company within the Philip Morris International group but did not eliminate its identity as a domestic public company. Sampoerna continued manufacturing and marketing tobacco products in Indonesia, with its portfolio focused on kretek and filtered cigarette brands. The company later encountered pressure from changes in consumer demand and manufacturing economics. In May 2014, it closed facilities in Lumajang and Jember and reportedly dismissed about 4,900 workers. The stated context was declining demand for hand-rolled kretek as Indonesian consumers increasingly purchased machine-made kretek cigarettes. This episode illustrated the operational consequences of a transition between labor-intensive traditional production and more industrialized formats. Sampoerna also experienced a temporary disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. In late April 2020, it closed its Rungkut factories in East Java after two employees died during the pandemic. The closure was not expected to halt overall production because the company maintained factories in other locations. Separately, the company faced criticism in 2010 concerning its corporate social-responsibility response to the Mount Merapi eruption. Critics argued that the visibility of branded four-wheel-drive vehicles and coordinated uniforms made the relief effort appear excessively promotional. Sampoerna remains an active Indonesian tobacco manufacturer, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange under the ticker HMSP and owned by Philip Morris International.

• 2020

  Rungkut factories temporarily close during the pandemic

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  The company temporarily closes its Rungkut factories after two workers die during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 2014

  Two factories close

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Sampoerna closes its Lumajang and Jember factories amid declining demand for hand-rolled kretek.

• 2005

  Philip Morris International acquires a controlling stake

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Philip Morris International completes the purchase of 97.95% of Sampoerna.

• 2001

  Michael Joseph Sampoerna becomes president director

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Michael Joseph Sampoerna assumes the position of president director.

• 1990

  Sampoerna A Mild launches

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Sampoerna launches Sampoerna A Mild on 19 October, expanding its portfolio with a filtered white-paper cigarette.

• 1968

  Sampoerna A Hijau launches

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces Sampoerna A Hijau as a new cigarette product.

• 1959

  The company returns to kretek

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Liem Swie Ling returns from Bali and restores the company's focus on hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe kretek cigarettes after a difficult shift toward white cigarettes.

• 1956

  Leadership passes to the next generation

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  After Liem Seeng Tee's death, his two daughters take over the company's management.

• 1930

  The Sampoerna family name is adopted

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1930s, Liem Seeng Tee adopts Sampoerna as his Indonesian family name, giving the company its later namesake.

• 1913

  Production of Dji Sam Soe begins

  [1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Liem Seeng Tee begins producing Dji Sam Soe cigarettes in Soerabaia, establishing the business that later becomes Sampoerna.

A broad Indonesian tobacco portfolio combining heritage kretek products with modern filtered and machine-made cigarette formats. Its brand identity emphasizes long-standing local manufacturing, established cigarette labels and product quality, while the business serves both traditional hand-rolled and contemporary machine-made segments.

• Kretek cigarette · 1913

  Dji Sam Soe

  Dji Sam Soe is Sampoerna's foundational cigarette brand. Production began in 1913, and the product became central to the company's recovery after its mid-century move toward white cigarettes created financial strain. It is associated with Indonesian hand-rolled kretek heritage and remains one of the principal names linked with Sampoerna's historical identity.

• Kretek cigarette · 1968

  Sampoerna A Hijau

  Sampoerna A Hijau was introduced in 1968 as part of the company's post-recovery product expansion. It represents an established Sampoerna cigarette line within the Indonesian kretek market and demonstrates the company's effort to extend its portfolio beyond the original Dji Sam Soe product.

• Filtered cigarette · 1990

  Sampoerna A Mild

  Launched on 19 October 1990, Sampoerna A Mild is a filtered cigarette in white paper and one of the company's best-known modern offerings. Its introduction broadened Sampoerna's portfolio beyond traditional hand-rolled kretek and helped establish a prominent mass-market product associated with the company's contemporary brand identity.

• 2010

  Criticism of Mount Merapi relief branding

  Sampoerna's disaster-relief response during the Mount Merapi eruption was criticized because branded four-wheel-drive vehicles and prominently uniformed staff were viewed by some observers as making the corporate social-responsibility activity appear promotional.

  Source

Read more

• 2020

  Temporary Rungkut factory closure during COVID-19Other

  Background

  Two workers at the Rungkut facilities died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Action taken

  Sampoerna temporarily closed its Rungkut factories in East Java.

  Aftermath

  The closure was not expected to materially stop total production because the company had factories at other locations.

  Source

• 2014

  Closure of Lumajang and Jember factoriesStrategy

  Background

  Demand for hand-rolled kretek cigarettes was declining as consumers shifted toward machine-made kretek products.

  Action taken

  Sampoerna closed its Lumajang and Jember factories and reportedly laid off approximately 4,900 employees.

  Aftermath

  The closures reflected the operational and employment effects of changing cigarette production and consumption patterns.

  Source

• 2005

  Sale of a controlling stake to Philip Morris InternationalM&A

  Background

  Sampoerna was an established Indonesian tobacco manufacturer with a substantial domestic portfolio.

  Action taken

  Philip Morris International completed the acquisition of 97.95% of Sampoerna.

  Aftermath

  Sampoerna became part of Philip Morris International's corporate group while continuing as a publicly listed Indonesian company.

  Source

• 1990

  Launch of Sampoerna A MildProduct launch

  Background

  Sampoerna sought to expand its portfolio beyond its traditional hand-rolled kretek base.

  Action taken

  The company introduced Sampoerna A Mild, a filtered cigarette using white paper.

  Aftermath

  A Mild became one of the company's best-known modern cigarette offerings.

  Source

• 1959

  Return to hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe kretekStrategy

  Background

  A strategic shift toward white cigarettes had placed the company in serious financial difficulty.

  Action taken

  Liem Swie Ling returned to Surabaya and redirected production toward hand-rolled Dji Sam Soe cigarettes and the kretek category.

  Aftermath

  The move restored the company's focus on its established clove-cigarette heritage and supported its subsequent recovery.

  Source

• 2020

  Sampoerna temporarily closes Rungkut factories after COVID-19 deaths[1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Regulation

  Factories in Rungkut, East Java, were temporarily closed after two workers died during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reported production impact was limited because the company operated facilities in other locations.

• 2014

  Sampoerna closes Lumajang and Jember factories amid changing cigarette demand[1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Leadership change

  The company closed factories in Lumajang and Jember and reportedly laid off approximately 4,900 employees as demand shifted away from hand-rolled kretek toward machine-made kretek cigarettes.

• 2005

  Philip Morris International completes acquisition of Sampoerna[1]Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Philip Morris International completed the acquisition of 97.95% of Sampoerna, bringing the Indonesian tobacco company into its corporate group while Sampoerna remained publicly listed.

1. 1Sampoernaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Sampoerna official websitesampoerna.com