Well, for all of you Coke lovers that shop at Costco, the long month without Coca-Cola products on the shelves is over. It was announced yesterday that Coca-Cola products will be returning to Costco store shelves on Monday. The pricing dispute that led Costco to halt orders of Coca-Cola’s soft drinks has been resolved.
“Effective this Monday, Coca-Cola products will be on our shelves,” said Costco CFO Richard Galanti on a conference call with analysts, following the company’s earnings release.
Galanti would not specifically say what the new deal with Coke is, rather he implied that they will now be offering better pricing and different packaging that is better for Costco’s members. Here’s what Coke spokesman Scott Williamson had to say: “Our program aligns Coca-Cola’s brand and package offerings with the needs of Costco’s members in a way that is fair and equitable for both Costco and Coca-Cola.”
I’m going to guess that Coca-Cola capitulated once they realized that Costco was serious and that it wasn’t really going to affect Costco as much as it would affect sales of their Coca-Cola beverages. Since I never really buy soda, at Costco or anyplace else, I wasn’t truly invested in this fight except from the perspective of someone that loves Costco so much she owns their stock. But, I am glad that they stood firm and got a better deal for everyone that shops there and does buy Coke. I think this demonstrates a lot about the Costco resolution to offer their members exceptional value and competitive pricing on everything in their stores. Hopefully this will also make it a little easier for Costco to negotiate deals with other manufacturers and distributors in the future because they’ll know that Costco is serious about obtaining the best deals and won’t hesitate to stop carrying a product, no matter how big the brand. Go Costco!
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2
tle //
2009.12.11 at 9:22 pm
The coca cola brand name is known worldwide (I would say just like Tiger Wood but …) and the costco name is becoming internationally recognizable also. So it is only best that both work out a deal!
3
Bree //
2009.12.12 at 12:41 am
I suspect as well that Coke realized Costco wasn’t playing around and that’s why they decided to deal. I don’t buy soda really either but I was in that isle the other day when a couple came up and the husband said “Well lets get the Diet Dr. Pepper b’cuz they don’t have diet coke anymore.” I guess some people are not loyal enough to their favorites if it means going to another store…which in my eyes would mean a big loss for coke.
4
Clue //
2009.12.12 at 4:41 am
That was entirely predictable and didn’t take very long. Corporate posturing, what a sport!
5
Kelly //
2009.12.18 at 9:15 pm
Hopefully that means they will have Smartwater again. When I was there last week 3 people, including myself, were standing in the water section very disappointed to see that there was no Smartwater and an employee said it was because of their dispute w/ Coke.
6
AC //
2009.12.19 at 10:05 am
Honestly, I thought the whole thing was a bit ridiculous – inconveniencing their customers like that.
7
Kimberly //
2009.12.19 at 10:57 am
Yeah, I agree, Coke shouldn’t have done this. If they had just given Costco a fair deal in the first place, then no customers at Costco would have been inconvenienced.