Coca-Cola closes bottling subsidiary BIG, trims stake in bottling to focus on brand and product

Jun 30, 2024 02:42 PM IST

When is Coca-Cola’s BIG shutting down?

The BIG corporate office will shut down on June 30, with the India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka operations coming under the control of Coca Cola’s internal board, the Economic Times wrote, citing the note.

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Coca-Cola India’s wholly-owned bottling company, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), was controlled by BIG till now. BIG was established in 2006.

What happens to Coca-Cola’s HCCB now?

HCCB, which began operations in 1997, supplies 2.5 million retailers through 3,500 distributors, another Economic Times report stated, adding that the bottling company, which runs 16 plants across the country, had earlier this year, sold a part of its operations in Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, and the Northeast to independent entities, making about ₹2,420 crore from the sell-offs.

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On the other hand, HCCB had also announced a ₹1,387 crore investment for a plant in Maharashtra last November and a ₹3,000 crore investment in Gujarat last December. In May this year, the company announced a ₹700 crore investment in Telangana.

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Why is Coca-Cola slowly reducing stake in its bottling operations?

Coca-Cola over the recent months has been trying to reduce the size of BIG, gradually dissolving its ownership in the bottling operations, to focus more on building the brand and competing in the market, according to the report.