Food and Beverages News
- Coke confident of China sales growth
Date: 31-Jul-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
COCA-COLA Co. (Coke), the world's biggest beverage maker, said it could sustain its annual sales growth in China around the 18 percent level seen in the latest quarter, boosted by rapidly rising consumer demand.
Coca-Cola's business in China, its fourth-largest market, doubled in the past five years to exceed 1 billion unit cases, or about 5 percent of worldwide sales. One unit case is equal to 5,678 liters.
Volume sales rose 18 percent in the second quarter.
'For the next two to three years ahead, as urbanization continues, we could keep up that growth rate,'Doug Jackson, president of Coca-Cola China, said yesterday.
China's economy continues to grow at a double-digit annual rate and its retail sales in the first half of the year rose 15.4 percent year on year, up from a 13.7 percent rise for 2006.
'There'll be significant future investment in China,'Paul Etchells, deputy group president of Coca-Cola Pacific, said, although he declined to say how much the company would spend.
Coca-Cola may buy companies in China in the future to expand, but has not yet found the right deal, he said.
Coca-Cola, which operates 35 bottling plants in China, is adding two more factories in the coming months to expand capacity. So far, the Atlanta-based company has invested US$1.3 billion in China.
Two weeks ago, Coca-Cola announced it would invest US$80 million in a new China headquarters and research center in Shanghai to develop non-carbonated products such as tea drinks, juices and mineral water, as part of a global strategy to win consumers who are switching from sugary sodas to healthier beverages.
Coca-Cola depends on carbonated beverages for 80 percent of its volume, compared with less than 20 percent for PepsiCo Inc.
To narrow its gap with PepsiCo in adding alternative drinks, Coca-Cola earlier this year bought Energy Brands Inc., maker of Glaceau Vitaminwater, and Fuze Beverage LLC, which makes teas and juices.
Coca-Cola, owner of the Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite trademarks, now sells 20 brands of beverages in China including water, teas, coffee and juices.
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