New CEO E. neville Isdell made clear from the start that he sees little wrong at Coca-Cola Co. "The system isn't broken. There's still opportunity for both Coca-Cola and the other [soft drink] brands," said the affable Irish citizen upon his May 4 appointment. But as he digs into the strategic questions about how to reignite growth at Coke, he might want to take a closer look at its first-quarter earnings report. The sharp 35% rise in profits owed little to the company's four core brands: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta. Instead, Coke got a jolt from the non-carbonated brands that were once treated as orphans by its cola-centric management. Sales of its Dasani water brand rose 23% globally despite being pulled from shelves in Europe in late March because initial shipments contained the carcinogen bromate. And Coke's Powerade sports drink saw volume surge 28% worldwide on the back of a new ad campaign featuring NBA prodigy LeBron James, as well as four extra selling days in the quarter.
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