Not a price war: Coca-Cola's sales in China are down, but still rising in price

Coca-Cola is not engaging in a price war.

Coca-Cola released its second-quarter earnings report for 2024 on July 23 at midnight. The report showed that the company's revenue was $12.36 billion in the quarter, up 3% year-on-year; operating profit was $2.632 billion, up 10% year-on-year.

However, the Asia-Pacific market became a drag on revenue. In the quarter, Coca-Cola's revenue in the Asia-Pacific market was $1.512 billion, down 4% year-on-year. From sales, Coca-Cola achieved double-digit growth in India, and Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea also saw growth. However, sales in the global market fell.

In such a situation, Coca-Cola is even rising in price. In May, according to reports from several media, Coca-Cola products in Hebei, Henan and Shandong began to rise in price, and Coke, Sprite and Fanta of 888 ml were adjusted to RMB5, and the 2-pack PET bottle products were adjusted to RMB7.

21st Century Business Journal reporter also confirmed from several distributors that this round of price hikes is indeed true, and several distributors have expressed sales pressure.