The Coca-Cola Company faced intensified competition from rivals such as PepsiCo in the 1990s, putting pressure on margins and hurting its bottling companies. As a counter-strategy, Coca-Cola and its bottlers sought to grow its vending machine business, which had higher margins. As a way to incentivize its bottlers to make the investment in vending machines, Coca-Cola provided cash support for one-quarter of the cost of each vending machine. In this case students consider how Coca-Cola and its bottlers should account for this payment by examining soda pricing, financial data, and the relationships between Coca-Cola and its bottlers.
Case ID: 080105
This case is used in core curriculum
Contact us by e-mail at Columbia CaseWorks or 212-853-8585.