Coke to Consolidate U.S. Bottlers Under New Supply System
September 24 2015 - 8:40AM
Dow Jones News
Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday that it plans to bring some of its
top U.S. bottlers together under a new supply system, the soda
giant's latest move to cut costs amid tepid sales.
Coke said the new national supply group will include independent
bottlers Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Coca-Cola Bottling
Company United, Swire Coca-Cola USA and the company-owned Coca-Cola
Refreshments and Coca-Cola North America. Together, the bottlers
account for 95% of the volume produced in the U.S.
The initial terms of the agreement call for Coca-Cola
Refreshments, which is owned by Coke, to divest nine production
facilities valued at about $380 million to the other bottlers
between 2016 and 2018.
Coke Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said the company will tap the
strengths of the four biggest-producing bottlers in its system to
operate a streamlined, "highly competitive" national supply
system.
Coke has already made moves to consolidate its global bottling
operations.
In August, three Coca-Cola Co. bottlers agreed to a merger
combining $12 billion in revenue across 13 European countries.
Publicly traded bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., or CCE, also
would relocate its headquarters to the U.K. from the U.S. in the
planned tie-up with Spain's privately held Coca-Cola Iberian
Partners SA and Germany's Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgeträ nke AG, the
latter owned by Atlanta-based Coke.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 24, 2015 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)
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