In India, cigarette marketing is tightly restricted by law, so retail execution at the counter carries unusual weight for manufacturers. This study examines two aspects of retail execution, product availability and point-of-sale (POS) visibility, for two cigarette variants of ITC Limited, Classic Balanced Taste Longs and Gold Flake Blue Longs, in Akola, Maharashtra. It uses a descriptive, observational field design. During an internship from 18 May to 18 July 2026, outlet visits were recorded as binary availability and display observations. After data cleaning, 123 valid outlet-visit observations were analysed from a convenience sample; the sample cannot be treated as representative of Akola. Classic Balanced Taste Longs was available in 87 of 123 observations (70.7%) and Gold Flake Blue Longs in 72 (58.5%). Among observations where each variant was available, it was displayed in 49 of 87 (56.3%) and 36 of 72 (50.0%) cases respectively. Neither variant was available in 30 observations (24.4%) and both in 66 (53.7%). Reported outlet-type differences should be read cautiously because outlet type was inferred from names. No causal or sales conclusions can be drawn. The study illustrates how a simple, repeatable outlet audit can reveal availability and display gaps, and it proposes compliance-aligned monitoring practices consistent with tobacco-control law.

Keywords: retail execution; product availability; point-of-sale visibility; distribution management; FMCG retailing; outlet-level audit; tobacco regulation