Jacques Magliolo
COCA-COLA International will be back in South Africa before the end of this year, say the experts ahead of Coke’s planned Friday press announcement and following rumours that Coke Group president for Africa Karl Weir has been seen in South Africa.
Though a press conference has been called for Friday, little information has been released by Coke or local company National Beverage Services (NBS). This has led experts to expect that Coke will remain silent on purchase price, time frames or how its return could affect existing bottlers and distributors.
However, there seems to be general consensus among analysts that Coke’s return will not change anything and should not affect the structure of the South African soft-drink industry.
Local bottlers and distributors, among them the listed Amalgamated Beverages Industries, are independent and are not expected to suffer as a result of Coke being represented here.
In 1986 the United States company disinvested from South Africa, selling all its assets and ultimately awarding a Coke licence to NBS. It is believed that Coke will repurchase the local company’s shares.
Following an announcement made by Weir in June, stating that the company wanted to return to South Africa, “only technical formalities remain”, says NBS executive director Hennie Viljoen. “How much or when is undisclosed,” he says, but believes that this will take place “by the new year”.
The return will be time consuming and will include certain governmental and legislative obstacles. The company has to obtain Reserve Bank approval, change the name and select a new board of directors.
So what advantages will Coke’s return bring to the man in the street? Only one, it seems: Coke is an international concern represented in 195 countries and it thus offers plenty of supply for addicts of the soft drink.