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Show Move Could Prove Cosily If Consumers Dont Like It Cokes New Taste Wont Fizzle Pop Companys Sales , Experts Say ) Continued From F-- l other one of his coups? Whatever the results, it's a gutsy and risky move, most observers agree, especially since Coke accounts for about 75 percent of the operating profits of the companys entire business. It's expected to take six to nine months to determine whether it's a success. Goizueta has done everything right so far at Coke, said Jack Maxwell, a analyst at Furman Selz Mager Dietz & Birney Inc., a New York brokerage firm. "I hate to bat against him. But with the reformulation of Coke a mistake on that soft-drin- were swayed by the fundamentals of the market, the pure strength of Coke's trademark and what Coke calls the overwhelmingly positive results of its taste tests. In blind testing of 190,000 consumers, 55 percent said they liked the new product; when they learned they were drinking Coke, the number jumped to 61 percent, the company said. Coke is going to sink or soar with this," said Jesse Meyers, publisher of k a Beverage Digest, y Greenwich, Conn. based industry newsletter that predicted the change two weeks ago, leading to a barrage of media coverage. With 190,000 taste tests. Im putting my money on the soar side. Another factor in Cokes favor is that most of the companys bottlers, many of whom were at first suspicious, support the change. In many ways, a lot of bottlers felt they weren't as competitive with Pepsi in terms of taste, said Martin Romm, an analyst with First Boston Corp. That attitude was especially prevalent among bottlers in Northern and Midwestern markets, where Pepsi has a much larger share than Coke, Romm said. In the short-terat least, the change will refocus consumer attendiet segtion from the ment to the shrinking sugar segmert -- is a big one." Most analysts, however, think the new Coke, which is smoother and not as syrupy, will succeed. All the hoopla about the new formula by Coke and rival Pepsi-Col- a Co., which claims its success prompted the change, will just cause more people to try Coke and Pepsi, they say. The big losers, they believe, will be the smaller bev- erage companies. One reason for such optimism among the analysts may be that theyve learned not to underestimate Goizueta, who has proved them wrong twice. Its just as likely, though, that they g busiof the "take-hom- e ness, that is, soft drinks sold in grocery stores Such a shift could result in as much as one additional percentage point in market share for Coke during each of the next three years, some analysts believe. That would reverse Coke's current slide and pere haps put it ahead of Pepsi in Pepsi's attempt to launch another round of "cola wars over Cokes formula change is nothing more than "silly games grown people play. said David Goldman of E F. Hutton. soft-drin- k "I realize 'cola wars' is a sexy thing, and everybody likes to talk about it, Goizueta said, "but this is a way for Coke to compete wi'h itself Taking a shot at Pepsi, he sniffed, "Today, brand Pepsi has roughly the take-hom- sales. Since 1981, Cokes share of that retail cola market has dropped 3.9 percentage points, to 17.9 percent in 1984, according to analyst Jack Maxwell, while Pepsi's share has fallen only 2.8 percentage points, to 19.6 percent. Pepsi, which is milking the Coke formula change for all its worth, says Coke has taken such drastic action to be more competitive with Pepsi. In fact, Pepsi claimed Coke was trying to make its product taste more like Pepsi. In truth, though, the move probably has more to do with the phenomenal success of Diet Coke, which has siphoned sales from mother Coke, rather than any inroads being made by Pepsi. Since hitting the shelves. Diet Coke has grabbed 9 percent of the market, according to estimates by E.F. Hutton &. Co. Only "a fraction of 1 percent of Coke's share was taken by Pepsi, Goizueta said. same market share it had 30 Further, sales of all Coke soft drinks at grocery stores and restaurants lead Pepsi in overall market share. And for all of its soft drinks, e marCoke's share of the ket has risen 1.9 percentage points since 1981, to 36.4 percent in 1984, while Pepsis share inched up about half of 1 percentage point to 25.6 percent. take-hom- Goizueta said the primary reason as taste of Coke unsexy and unglamorous as it may sound is that consumers said they like it. Back in 1981, when the companys scientists told him that while refining Diet Coke they had devised a formula they believed was better than old 7X, his reaction was that if the consumer prefers it, a new formu- for changing the Mr. MacQuiddy also is senior vice president of Triad America and president of Triad Develop- ment Company. Triad Hotel and Development Group has been formed by Triad America, the Saudi Arabian familys holding company, to direct its hospitality business. Kha-shog- Emanuel A. Floor, executive vice president of Triad America, said among the duties of the new hotel and development group, headquartered in the Salt Lake International Center, will be to purchase, construct and manage hotels. Triad recently purchased The Salt Lake Sheraton. While the Sheraton Corp. will continue to manage the hotel, Triads investment in it will fall under the supervision of Triad Hotel and Development Group. The group also includes Ventures, which operates a variety of food and beverage properties in the Salt Lake Valley, including the Devereaux restaurant, mantle piece of the $615 mil Triad-LaCail- lion Triad Center. pulled off the biggest product reintroduction and reformulation in history without spending a dime. "Its the most brilliantly orchestrated abuse of the media in the 20th century, analyst David Goldman said Elevate your years ago. automotive standards without lowering your standard of living Instead of going abroad to purchase a European sports car at an economical price, you need only go across town. Because now the strength of the dollar allows you to drive home a Alfa Romeo GTV--6 for only $16,500 Or one of our classic convertibles which start at a low $13,495 So hurry in to test drive a new Alfa Romeo. And raise your level of automotive excitement without giving your wallet a heart attack. ce When you buy a hot European spo car, you usually end up with something that's not so hot The warranty. But when you purchase Alfa Romeo you get a warranty tha Triad Hotel and Development Group Established Russell R. MacQuiddy, who has about 40 years of experience in property development and management, has been named president of the group. la for Coke would be worth considering But those who know Goizueta aren't fooled by his "ah shucks" demeanor. Coke is a marketing giant, and the most interesting part of the whole change might be the way Coke as as the car 0 exclusive 3 mile Plei Protection. of e national Center, Triads industrial park west of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Construction may begin late this year. Mr. Floor said, Triad has long held as its goal the creation of a diverse investment portfolio. With formation of the hotel and development group, we move one step closer to our goal and create, in the process, an even broader financial base from which to operate. The hotel and development group is the fourth major area into which Triad has diversified. Triads other major groups include real estate, energy and services. year36,000 900-acr- Other TriadLaCaille Venture properties affected include Cafe Vicieuses Rumeurs, a private club; Wine and Roses, retailer of alcoholic beverages and gourmet foods; Take Five, an informal restaurant; TriadLaCaille Catering and Trison, a wholesale food distributor. The Hyatt Hotel, scheduled to be built at Triad Center, will also fall under the new groups supervision. Groundbreaking is tentatively planned for late summer. The group is also developing plans for the construction of a third hotel at the Salt Lake Inter 7ftl yfficmccr flf The mobt passionately engineered cars in the world. 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