ncentrate for glassbottles which are exported and then sold to bottlers. Coke and Pepsi inPoland: Poland, with a population of 38 million people, is the biggestconsumer market in central and eastern Europe. Coca-Cola is closing in onPepsi's lead in this country with 1992 sales of 19.5 million cases versusPepsi's sales of 26.5 million cases. The main problems in this area are thecentralized economy, the lack of modern production facilities, anon-convertible local currency, and poor distribution. However, since thezloty is now convertible, Coca-Cola realizes the growth potential in Poland.After Fiat, Coca-Cola is now the second biggest investor in Poland. Coca-Colahas developed an investment plan which includes direct investment and jointventures/investments with European bottling partners. Its investments mayexceed $250 million, and it has completed the infrastructure building.Coca-Cola has divided Poland into 8 regions with strategic sites in each ofthese areas. Moreover, it has organized a distribution network to make sureits products are widely available. This distribution network, which Coca-Colahas spent a lot of money organizing, is extremely important to challengePepsi's market share and to maintain a high level of customer service. Also,Coca-Cola, like Pepsi, signed counter trade agreements with Poland. Bothtrade their concentrate for Polish beer. All of this has helped Coca-Cola toclose in on Pepsi's lead in Poland. Conclusion on Eastern Europe: BothCoca-Cola and Pepsi are trying to have their colas available in as manylocations in Eastern Europe, but at a cost which consumers would be willingto pay. The concepts which are becoming more important in Eastern Europeinclude color, product attractiveness visibility, and display quality. Inaddition, availability (meeting local demand by increasing productionlocally), acceptability (building brand equity), and afford ability (pricinghigher than local brands, but adapting to local cond...
