NEW
DELHI: US cola giant Coca-Cola has said that rival Pepsi is slightly ahead but
the Atlanta-based company is determined to push India among its top five markets
on the strength of its "advantage portfolio"
here.
"By the way, Pepsi is
slightly ahead of us. But the issue is total business. Cola-to-cola, we are
ahead. Every sub-category like lemon and orange, we are ahead. Four out of top
five brands are ours," Neville Isdell, chairman and CEO of Coca- Cola,
said.
Recalling the strategy
adopted by the company way back in 1993 of buying Limca, Thumps Up and Maaza
from Ramesh Chauhan, Isdell said, "It's a real mixture of three real champion
local brands along with Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite as global international
brands has put us in a leadership
position."
Asked whether an
Indian heading the rival company (Indra Nooyi as CEO of Pepsi) gives advantage
to Pepsi, Isdell stated, "We do not have a formula that says we have to have
this nationality in this country because only locals are able to manage the
business."
"These things are
situational... What is the skill that is needed and decision is taken," he
said.
Isdell, who is in India
on a personal-cum-educational trip, has in his agenda to meet and relate with
all the employees to make them feel an integral part of the overall global
team.
The company, which has
seen six straight quarters of growth, is well positioned to make India among the
top five market for Coke over the next few years, with Isdell announcing to pump
in about Rs 1,000 crore ($250 million) to expand operations here.
Asked whether he was satisfied
with the growth of the company in India, Isdell said, "Yes, I am. We are
absolutely on target. They (Indian) were one of the best business units of the
company in 2007 both in terms of volume and profit. So we are on track."
He, however, declined to
reveal the financial figures of Indian operations. On the impact of expected
slowdown in US economy on Indian operations, the Coke CEO said "nearly 80% of
our profitability comes from outside US... We will not be affected as most other
industries."
In fact, the rupee
appreciation vis-a-vis US currency is not really a major issue for the company.
"We source so much of our product and ingredient locally... We are virtually a
local brand so the inflationary pressures are not that large for us as they are
for the people who have large imported product portfolio."
Asked what are new products
being launched in India, Isdell said new products would be brought and launched
but it has to be at an appropriate time for each country. "That's a decision
which is a part of the local management."