American Tobacco Company focused solely on making and selling cigarettes, leaving growing of tobacco and retail distribution to independent entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, Duke aimed to eliminate inefficiencies and middlemen through vertical consolidation. The American Tobacco Company began to expand to Great Britain, China, and Japan. The company also maintained an interest in producing other tobacco products in case fads shifted; Duke wanted to be sure that he would be prepared with a multitude of tobacco styles. The Tobacco Trust's international expansion in conjunction with its consolidation of all types of tobacco “ultimately made the Trust so vulnerable to regulation and judicial dissolution”.