Coca-Cola To Invest $1.2bn in Russia

The company want to increase the range of products and sell coca-cola, energy drinks and kvas to a network comprising small kiosks and hypermarkets.

 In Short Term Coca-Cola has announced
plans to invest $1.2bn in its Russian operations over the next three
to five years, saying it expects sales to grow despite the economic
crisis. Zoran Vucinic, head of Coca-Cola's Russia, Ukraine and
Belarussian operations, told a news conference, "The company can
afford to have aggressive positions in Russia. The market of
non-alcoholic beverages is growing during (the) crisis and we want to
continue investing in the Russian market. Coke will be hoping that
cash-strapped consumers will move back to the cheaper carbonated
drinks from the more expensive juice brands.
Coca-Cola’s local
operations are dwarfed by rival Pepsi’s, which has a stronger
position in the juice segment through the country's biggest juice
producer, Lebedyansky.