Costco versus Coca Cola!
If you love coke, then you definitely won’t get it at Costco. The giant retailer has gotten into a squabble with the nation’s largest maker of the soft drink over pricing. Retailers like Costco want to offer coke at a lower price considering the state of the economy, but Coca Cola Company is intent on keeping its profit margins bigger.
Says Gerry Khermouch, editor of business rights, “Beneath this surface of harmony, it’s a dogfight out there. Retailers want to wield more power in determining pricing with product makers, who they depend on to stock their customers’ favorite brands. ”
Says Costco on its website, “Costco is committed to carrying name brand merchandise like coke at the best possible prices. So far, Coca-Cola has not provided Costco with competitive pricing so that we may pass along the value our members deserve.”
Costco has not removed any of the coke products from the shelves but is has no plans of restocking them until the matter is resolved. This dispute is not insignificant, because both Coca Cola and Costco are mega billion dollar corporations.
Coca-Cola representative said in a statement on Monday that they do not have much to say to the media about ongoing discussions but did emphasize that Costco is an vital business customer and that it is committed to working with it “in a spirit of fairness.”
For Costco whose business motto has always been to offer lower prices for its customers, there is always the option to go with other soft drinks. this may end up to be a likely option because so far not many companies have ever bullied coke into changing its pricing strategy