COCA COLA'S PRICING PRACTICES

There has been some news about Coca Cola’s pricing practices in the media recently.

There is no doubt that Coca Cola Amatil with it’s strength in the relatively small and uncompetitive Australian market, determines pricing of soft drinks and all the other suppliers follow their lead. Most operators in the Vending Industry know how Coca Cola controls the distribution and pricing of their products and the difficulty in obtaining good pricing.

This is not surprising as it is the way things are around the world. The strongest dominate the market and determine pricing. Consider companies like Microsoft, Woolworths, Coles, Harvey Norman, the Fuel companies, and how they determine pricing in the Aussie market. What about the high prices Aussie consumers pay for CD’s and DVD’s?

However, the issue with parallel imports (same product imported from another country) is that the products are not the same as those manufactured in Australia. Take Coca Cola for example. I have tasted some of the imported Coca Cola from Asia and found that it does not taste the same as the Aussie product. There is no way I could sell them in our vending machines due to the negative feedback we will receive even if the pricing was lower. I have yet to taste the USA version which I’m sure will taste better.

Such is life.