Coke's bottling head takes stock of Indian operations

Coca-Cola India on Thursday said that Irial Finan, the company's global president for bottling operations, completed a visit to the country earlier this month.

"Finan was here to understand the Indian market and provide inputs for our affordability strategy in India," said Sunil Gupta, vice-president (corporate affairs), Coca-Cola India.

But he refused to comment on the exact date of Finan's visit and his interactions with Coke's partners in India.

The company's statement comes close on the heels of some newspaper reports that Finan would be visiting India in August.

Coke bottlers, on their part, expressed surprise that the head of the company's bottling operations did not meet them during his visit.

Finan's visit follows Coca-Cola chief executive officer Neville Isdell who came to India last month on a two-day trip. Coke's Indian management at that time too had denied his visit.

India was the first country Isdell visited after taking over as the company's chief executive officer, and he reviewed the entire operations, including bottling and held detailed discussions with Coke's Indian management.

Industry sources said Finan's visit could be significant as Coca-Cola is considering splitting of its bottling operations from the corporate and marketing functions.