Introduction Coca-Cola was first originated in 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton. (“Company history”) This soda fountain beverage that Dr. Stith created is one of the world’s most recognized products. This company is a multi-billion dollar business that sells over 3,500 products worldwide and has operations in over 200 countries. (“Our company”) This company has been in business for over 127 years and somehow continues to report increased dividends every year. (“Our company”) The Coca-Cola Company believes in growth, leadership, and sustainability. The company’s mission is to refresh the world, inspire optimism, and happiness, and to create a value and make a difference. (“Our company”) This company has proven its ability as a world-wide leader and is committed to make a positive difference in the world. Coca-Cola like other companies has many strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths
Coca-Cola has so many strengths as an organization. Coca-Cola is the largest beverage distributor in the world. They distribute to over 200 countries. Also, Coca-Cola is the best global brand in the world. This brand is valued at over $77 billion in 2012. This is an 8% increase from 2011. (Elliot) Coca-Cola has a strong marketing and advertising presence. Social media helps to play a role in advertising and marketing. Coca-Cola has over 51 million likes on Facebook and this is more than any brand. (Elliot) Also, Coca-Cola is one Twitter; they have over 1 million tweets per quarter. (“Our Company”) The marketing and advertising campaigns from commercials, vending machines, and social media have helped strengthen the organization. Coca-Cola also has a strong customer loyalty worldwide. The ad campaigning helps to aid their customer loyalty. Loyal customers also look forward to their holiday and Super Bowl campaigns. With the right marketing and advertising, customers will feel more loyal to your brand. Coca-Cola also maintains a strong corporate social responsibility. They provide so much to others worldwide and provide sustainability. A few examples of this include; the entrepreneurship to rural women in Africa, providing Hispanic scholarships, and protection the environment by their recycling program across college campuses. (“Sustainability’) Coca-Cola also has a bargaining power over suppliers. If only one customer decides to switch to Pepsi, it’s not really going to affect Coca-Cola sales. Coca-Cola just has a strong customer loyalty base. But like other organizations they also have weaknesses.
Weakness
When new brands fail and lose millions of dollars this can be devastating to an organization. In 1985 Coca-Cola introduced New Coke. They changed the original formula of Coca-Cola and this was the first change in 99 years. (“The real story”) There were many complaints from Coca-Cola consumers and the brand was changed back to the original formula. A weakness for Coca-Cola can also be noted if brands have insignificant revenues. Also any type of negative publicity will result in weakness for the organization. Coca-Cola received negative publicity in 2006, when they were accused of polluting the soil and groundwater in India. They were accused of causing water shortages in India. (Mercer, 2006) When Coca-Cola acquires acquisitions this can result as a weakness and it results in huge debt for the organization. This occurred in 2010, when Coca-Cola acquired Coca-Cola Enterprises. This resulted in $8 billion debt for Coca-Cola. (“U.S. Coca-Cola confirms”,2010) Also, Coca-Cola’s caffeinated beverages are viewed as being unhealthy and this places a signifance of these beverages. The world has put a focus on fighting obesity and is moving toward healthier foods and drinks. Another weakness for Coca-Cola is that it’s not diversified. It only focuses on selling beverages. This puts the company at a disadvantage. The