The Influence Of Distribution Effectiveness On Cola Wars In Indian Rural Markets: A Study With Reference To Tamilnadu, South India

The intensity of much publicised cola wars are often explicit mostly in the urban markets of developed countries and do not look into the rural areas where distribution is complex than cities. The objective of the paper is to analyse the effect of distribution efficiency in the rural marketing efforts of the Cola giants, Pepsi and Coke. The research covered the rural hamlets in Coimbatore region of Tamilnadu in South India where both the cola majors have a prominent distribution network owing to the hot weather conditions. The data was collected mainly from the owners of 356 retail outlets and their customers spreading over 76 villages. Analysis was done region wise as well as outlet wise to know the distribution efficiency of these companies and identified the gaps in servicing the rural pockets .Pepsi is better off in rural distribution mainly due to its efficient line servicing in rural areas when compared to Coke.