By Giorgos Lampiris
Its new soft drinks price lists are in effect from Monday, October 30 Coca-Cola in Greece both to supermarkets and retailers as well as to wholesalers. The new prices were announced at the points of sale of its products Coca-Cola in our country on October 13 and their implementation has already begun.
At the level of availability in retail channels and supermarkets, price increases start from 4% on the 1.5 liter six Coca-Cola Light where the price from 10.13 euros now rises to 10.54 euros. The corresponding wholesale increase for the same product is 4.1% from 8.88 euros to 9.24 euros per six. However, it should be noted that on products sold in retail, the discounts that can be offered by the Coca-Cola 3E that does the distribution in Greece can reach the levels of 30% to 40% of the list price. The largest revaluation of the list is imposed according to data available to the Capital.gr in its 1.5 liter six Fanta Orange and Fanta Lemon, at a rate of 11.5% to retail. In this case the price from 7.44 euros now reaches 8.29 euros per six for the Fanta orange. As far as the same product is concerned, the wholesale price increase is 11.3% for Fanta orange, where from 6.52 euros, the new price is 7.26 euros.
As for the classic Coca-Cola in a 330ml can of 24 the price increases by 8.6% in retail from 15.48 euros to 16.81 euros and correspondingly in wholesale by 8.5% from 13.58 euros to 14.74 euros. Accordingly, the 24 pack of 330 ml in its can Coca-Cola Zero to retail increases by 5.6% from 16.49 euros to 17.41 euros and also by 5.6% to wholesale from 14.46 euros to 15.27 euros.
The price hikes are imposed on the entire range of Coca-Cola soft drinks including, but not limited to, Sprite and Schweppes, while the new prices apply to all types of packaging and sizes, whether it is aluminum cans, PET bottles or glass packaging.
The role of promotions in retailing
An important role is played in the soft drinks industry by the offers made in the retail trade, where, as we said, they can reach up to 40% per package. It should be noted that the Zoran Bogdanovicmanaging director of the group Coca-Cola HBC during yesterday’s stock analyst briefing following the publication of the company’s Q3 2023 financial results, he referred to the importance of the company remaining competitive in each market in which it operates. As he mentioned, among other things, promotional actions play a primary role in the company’s commercial policy.
In response to a question from one of the analysts who participated in the specific teleconference about whether and to what extent due to the current situation and the inflationary trends existing in the European market – we remind you that Coca-Cola HBC is the second largest bottler of the group Coca-Cola with a presence in Greece as well-, consumption is affected, Z. Bogdanovic noted that the decrease in disposable consumer income is present due to the increase in prices in many categories of goods. He even added that there is a restriction of consumption in some markets, in which the Coca-Cola HBC group is adjusting its strategy and exploring the promotional actions it will carry out to keep and strengthen the sales volume of its products. He emphasized among others that the company should give more weight to the increase in sales volume and not only to the development of turnover and profitability, since the quantities are what support the consumption, while the turnover has inflationary characteristics and is largely related to product price increases.
In recent statements, Bogdanovic said that while repricing has been a major contributor to the company’s revenue per case during the year, Coca-Cola HBC is seeking a balanced price mix and volume growth that will contribute to creating growth in the future. CCHBC revised upward its annual revenue forecast in August as it benefited from price increases.
