Competition of Coca-Cola Company - Essay Example

The Coca-Cola Company is a corporation that operates as a manufacturer, retailer, and marketer of non-alcoholic beverages syrups and concentrates. The corporation has been in operation for 129 years since its inception in 1886 (Bodden, 2009, p. 3). Coca-Cola is an American corporation listed on the New York Securities Exchange. The company is headquartered in Atlanta Georgia but operates globally in over 200 countries. Coca-Cola owns or licenses and markets over 500 non-alcoholic beverages. Mostly they deal with sparkling beverages, waters, enhanced waters, juice, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy drinks (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015 retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/). The company was listed as the fourth in World’s Most Valuable Brands as of May 2015 (Forbes, 2015 retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola/).

Competition
Coca-Cola’s rivals in the market are mainly Pepsi Co Inc. and Dr. Peppers Snapple Group Inc. Pepsi competes with Coca-Cola on the global market while Dr. Peppers challenges Coca-Cola mainly in the US market. The market location explains why Dr. Peppers Snapple Group Inc. shares rose more than the two rivals in February 2015. Unlike Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Dr. Peppers does not suffer major issues associated with foreign currency fluctuations. Pepsi is also more diversified than Coca-Cola. It also operates in the food industry.

Fierce competition continues, and the demand for carbonated drinks that Coca-Cola relies on decreases. Now Coca-Cola's CEO, Muhtar Kent announced plans to lay off around 1800 employees to reduce costs. However, with a market in the global beverage industry of 30% and a market capital of 183 US billion dollars, Coca-Cola remains a global giant (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2015 retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/investors/investors-info-sec-filings). Read More