Coca-Cola files suit for theft

26 July 2007

BRUSSELS – The Belgian branch of soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has filed suit against persons unknown who have distributed samples, intended for promotions at important events, through a parallel/alternate sales circuit.

Some time ago security agents from Coca-Cola Belgium discovered a very large number of the free cans and bottles of their gamma soft drinks did not reach their public free. They were offered by promotion teams but somewhere between the delivery and distribution of the samples, someone had managed to get their hands on a part of the delivery.

The loot was then sold on to proprietors of markets and shops and put on sale to the general public. The fact that the cans were smaller and were clearly marked as free and not for sale apparently made no impression on the members of the alternate sales circuit.

It is difficult to ascertain out how long Coca-Cola has been a victim of this form of misappropriation and how much it has cost the company. The soft drinks giant annually distributes more than 10 million free samples among the public. This usually occurs at large events, such as the Ivo Van Damme Memorial. For this sporting event alone, Coca-Cola provides thousands of free drinks.

Subject: Belgian news