Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Part of  Coca-Cola's mission is to refresh the world, And to do so they plan on investing heavily in large foreign markets. Coke realizes that it needs to heavily invest in these markets, in order to gain a significant market share. Because of this, they plan to invest:

• Five billion in India by 2020
• Three billion in Russia by 2016
• Eight billion in Brazil by 2016
• And 300 million in Vietnam by 2015

SWOT Analysis

Strengths- Coca-Cola's greatest strength is brand recognition. 94% of the world can recognize the Coca-Cola label. When people buy a can of coke, they are getting a good, quality, consistent product. Also, they hold a significant portion of the global market share. Coca-Cola operates in over 200 countries around the world.

Weaknesses- The biggest threat to Coke is that they're beverages are very unhealthy. Recent studies have shown that drinking soda adds 15 pounds per year. In an increasingly health conscience society, this could be a very big problem.

Opportunities- Coca-Cola has a great opportunity to expand it's market share. It's investing heavily in foreign markets, and in healthier soft drinks. It has begun producing various non-carbonated drinks such as, Vitamin Water and Aquafina.

Threats- Health problems is the only thing holding Coke back. Recently, governments have started planning to either; ban the product in certain portions, place an additional tax on it, or both. If these plans are implemented throughout the world, it would significantly reduces Coca-Cola's sales.