CNBC:
Former Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell says he’s watching PepsiCo‘s attempt to buy its two largest bottlers with great interest, but he wouldn’t suggest Coke tread down the same path.
“There are synergies,” he says. “There would be synergies for Coke to do it, there’s no question about that, but the question is: what are the unseen disadvantages?”
According to Isdell, the franchise system sets up a healthy “friction level” between the manufacturer of a product and the franchisor of a brand. This relationship raises the discussion about the concerns over the day-to-day business to the level of CEO-to-CEO dialogue.
“When that (relationship) is not constructive, that’s an issue, but when it is constructive, it is proven to be a great, great model,” Isdell says. More.
