11/05/2008 15h29
Coca-Cola has been growing in Brazil for 18 quarters
Valor Econômico - 11/05/2008
Coca-Cola has been keeping its growth rhythm in the country for 18 consecutive quarters. In this period, which gets to 54 months (or four years and a half), in all quarters, except only one, the percentage of sales high remained above 7%. The only different period was the second quarter of this year, when sales grew only 0.1%. During April, May and June, consumers, in the evaluation of the company's executives in the country, were very reticent due the increase of prices in retail caused by the commodities high. Due to that, consumption of products considered superfluous - such as juices and sodas - was also affected. For the last quarter of the year and also for 2009, the company expects to continue growing above 7%. The strategy is to increase the consumption of sodas by the Brazilian people, which, if compared to other countries is still low. Here, each person consumes 160 glasses of 237 ml of sodas per year, on the average. In Chile, this total leaps to 240 glasses and reaches up to 500 in Mexico. Coca-Cola also bets on a most varied portfolio. The company, which launched the lemon-flavored
i9 Hidrotônico beverage in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul in July, now expands the line with the orange version. According to Coca-Cola, the new product has a market share of 10% among isotonic beverages, which surpassed the company's expectations. The beverage with the new flavor, as in the original launching, orange
i9 will be initially sold in the three states mentioned above. The lemon
i9 will have national distribution until the end of the year.
