Costco stops carrying Coca-Cola? Yes, it is true. A pricing dispute between the wholesale club and the maker of several of the most recognized and popular brands of soft drinks in the world has come to this extreme. Find out more about the surprising development.
With approximately 560 stores in the U.S. and worldwide, the Issaquah, Washington-based Costco Wholesale Corp. is the nation’s largest wholesale club. It has stopped restocking some of the products from the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co, including the iconic Coke Classic as well as several varieties of Coke, along with some of the company’s other well-known soft drink brands, bottled water, and energy drinks.
According to Bloomberg, a statement was issued on the company’s official Web site:
“At this time, Coca-Cola has not provided Costco with competitive pricing so that we may pass along the value our members deserve.”
The article goes on to note that Teri Finney, a company spokeswoman, would not reveal any more details. Similarly, spokespersons for both the Coca-Cola Corp and its largest distributor, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., also declined to comment. The story is also discussed in the video report below.
Share prices of both companies, Costco on Nasdaq and Coca-Cola on the New York Stock Exchange, have risen this year, 16 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
With all parties declining to comment, this leaves the media and the public with an incomplete picture of the dispute, as well as when or if it will be resolved. Meanwhile, the warehouse club members are in limbo. As Oregonlive.com points out, this will create a great inconvenience for members, especially those in search of hard to find products such as Mexican Coke. It is made with real cane sugar rather than corn syrup and comes in a glass bottle, and has enjoyed a strong and loyal following.
Unless an agreement is reached between the companies, when the current stock of the beverages runs out in the stores, all members will need to turn elsewhere to find their favorite brand, whether it be Sprite, Diet Coke, Vitamin Water, Full Throttle or Squirt, just to name a few perennial favorites, as Costco stops carrying Coca-Cola products.
November 21st, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Coke went through this exact scenario about 10 years ago as they wouldn’t consider reducing their margins, and Pepsi stepped right in to do the deal.