Re: Raste Studimi
Capun Capuni
(Studim per Coca-Cola. ..kjo eshte vetem gjysma, dhe pertoj me e perkthyne Shqip.) /pf/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I. Carbonated (CSD) vs. Non-carbonated beverages (NCB)
During the recent years, there has been an increase in healthy eating and living. Unfortunately for Coca Cola, CSDs are beginning to be labeled as “junk food.” This kind of stigma has allowed for an explosion of non-carbonated beverages such as; bottled water, sports drinks and teas.
From a strategic perspective, what sets CSDs and NCBs apart are the stages of the product life cycle in which they stand. In 2001, CSDs grew merely 2% worldwide. Sales of Classic Coke declined in the US by over 5% (Stevenson, 2002). The two main reasons for the decline of CSDs are:
1. Increased demand for healthy food – as noted above.
2. An overall aging global population.
These statistics, combined with the fact that CSDs tend to be standardized and the high price-elasticity of demand (Stevenson, 2002) indicate that they are in the maturity state of the product development life cycle (See Exhibit 1).
NCBs on the other hand are enjoying stunning growth. Since the early 1980s, Snapple tea was a huge success. Bottled water has seen dramatic increases in sales; in fact, Coke’s Dasani saw an increase of 90% in 2001 (Stevenson, 2002). The NCBs are currently in between the introductory and growth stages of their lifecycle, because they are unstandardized, and there is high product differentiation (Exhibit 2).
According to Lefkovitz and Wilkin, the authors of Kimchi Matters, adopting the product and strategy to the local market is critical for success. Unlike the Coca Cola drink, which has a global strategy based on the famous secret Coke formula, tastes for NCBs vary greatly. As Paul Taylor of Coke indicates, “…in Europe they prefer much saltier water” (Stevenson, 2002). As a result, it would make perfect sense for Dasani to include minerals that add a salty taste to its European operations.
One has to consider that the fact that there are nearly 300 Coke products in Japan and only a quarter of those in the US, is a good indicator of the difference in selling CSDs and NCBs in other countries. As Stevenson points out in his article, the taste for beverages seems to change often in Japan; therefore, it is in Coke’s interest to adopt its NCBs to the changing tastes of the Japanese. Such rapid changes in taste of non-carbonated products might not go well with the US customer – which shows that NCBs need more local adaptation than the standardized formulas for CSDs.
II. Coke’s success in CSDs and worldwide strategies for NCBs.
Coke’s success in CSDs worldwide was mostly due to the strong American economy and the position of the US as a superpower after WWII. Based on Porter’s National Diamond model, Coke’s need for improvement and innovation was fueled by the strong rivalry of Pepsi. The expansion of the US Army around the globe created favorable demand conditions. Coke was being consumed first by US soldiers and it gave the company the ability to expand production globally to meet demand. KO, also exhibited favorable firm conditions. By WWII, Coke had been in existence for decades and it already had the infrastructure and skilled labor to take advantage of the growth in demand (Exhibit 3).
Coke, in CSDs, was very good at profiting from the Scale Economies model. Given the diversity of NCBs and the range of differences in taste across the globe for such products, Coke should apply the Economies of Scope framework to take advantage ....
