The Coca Cola Company chief executive Doug Ivester will make his maiden visit to India later this week. According to information available, Ivester will arrive here on August 22.
During his flying visit of around 18 hours to India, Ivester is slated to visit Hyderabad, which boasts of Coca Cola India's first bottling joint venture. Coca Cola India official spokesperson refused to divulge details on the visit.
Industry sources said the fact that a chief executive of The Coca Cola Company is visiting India indicates the importance of the Indian market for the Atlanta-based major. It is not known who all Ivester will meet, besides his company employees here.
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Ivester's visit comes at a time when the soft drinks market is stagnating. High excise duties forced both Coke and Pepsi to raise their cola prices a few months ago.
While Coca Cola India did not comment, Ivester is expected to get a first-hand knowledge of the Indian market-- one of the key markets for Coca Cola, especially with Pepsi having a strong presence here. India is one of the countries where Pepsi has taken Coca Cola to court alleging that the latter is poaching on the Pepsi's employees, business associates and sports and music consultants.
With the launch of diet colas, the fight for market share has intensified in India. As per ORG-MARG, Coca Cola brands have a market share of 57.6 per cent here.
The significance of Ivestor's visit is apparent at a time when the company is consolidating its position. Not only has it managed to buy out most of its 50 joint venture bottling operations to turn them into company-owned bottling operations, but has also made peace with Ramesh Chauhan.
As part of a strategy, Coca Cola has also sought permission to merge four of its bottling operation subsidiaries. /TITLE>