The Hindu Business Line : Innovation, acquisitions put Coke on high growth path

Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Oct 02, 2007 ePaper

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Home Page - Beverages
Marketing - Outlook
Innovation, acquisitions put Coke on high growth path

COO upbeat on emerging markets, Western Europe

Mr Muhtar Kent

Rasheeda Bhagat

Recently in Atlanta Thanks to its innovative strategy, winning culture and some key acquisitions, The Coca-Cola Company is once again on the path of “high growth”, not only in emerging countries but also developed markets such as Western Europe, its President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr Muhtar Kent, told visiting Indian journalists.

At the Coke headquarters in Atlanta the mood is upbeat as the beverage giant has bounced back in the last couple of years after “difficult times” in the previous years. “I’m very happy to report that on a global strategic basis The Coca-Cola Company is now again generating growth in Western markets also, along with the emerging markets, thanks to some of our innovative platforms,” he said, admitting that in the Western markets the organisation had, “in some respects and in a little way lost our way to grow in the late-1990s and early-2000s.”

But it was “now back to growth”. Not only was the growth “balanced” but also coming out of Latin America, the BRIC and other emerging markets, as well as Western Europe. Also, since the growth was “balanced between sparkling and still beverages, and from a balanced perspective, that gives us confidence for the future.”

Giving an international perspective, Mr Kent said that “the Coca-Cola system and business outside the US is bigger than the combination of our next three competitors. It is three times the size of our next competitor; and internationally, in the non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink category, we are also bigger than the combination of the next three competitors.”

He believed the company was in a “very good place to capture and serve the growing number of consumers and customers from the emerging economies. We will give them the choice, the best and most innovative beverages and believe we will capture the lion’s share of the growth in the BRIC countries.”

On the growth prospects in India and other BRIC and Latin American countries, he said, “There is no question that the emerging markets are enjoying a sustainable and high economic growth hitherto unknown in the past. In the next 10 years the world’s population would go up by 800 million, but what’s more important than that is there is going to be approximately 700 million people in the emerging markets moving into what we call middle class. That is twice the size of the US of today and is going to be a huge driver of growth.”