Speaking at a select media gathering on his maiden trip to India, James Quincy- president and CEO of Coca-Cola said owing to the abundance of opportunities, the company will focus on beverages for the foreseeable future. “But we don't rule out other things if they create value and help us build a better company.”
While he has given the company's Indian branch, led by T Krishnakumar, to become the fifth-largest market for the company in a selected time frame, he wishes to see Coca-Cola in the top three slot. Such a challenging aim would require Coca-Cola India to out-run large markets like Japan, Brazil, China, in revenues. India is currently the sixth-largest country in the network, with the top two being the US and Mexico.
“We will be guided by what the consumers want and how that creates value for our customers. It means in the end, the company wants to become bigger than the world's best brand, i.e., Coca-Cola. It's both a great strength that the company's name is same as the name of the brand but it also somehow limited us. So really while brand Coca-Cola will be the heart and soul of the company, the company needs to become much bigger by participating in many more categories. That's what we are making a strong emphasis on,” Quincey said.
Ideally, Quincey would like markets to emulate Japan, where the sparkling drinks business forms a smaller portion and a large part of the business comprises coffee, juices and other non-sparkling products. Quincey, however, does not want to put a stick in the ground to say when the global portfolio would have an equal representation between sparkling and non-sparkling businesses. India, which faced a bit of slowdown, is working on a plan to return back on the path of growth. Quincey is keen that India remains a consistent investment destination for Coca-Cola.
