or Rb1,800. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, only moved into Russia 8 years ago and is manufactured locally in Moscow and St. Petersburg under a license. Despite investing $85 million in these two bottling plants, they do not perceive Coca-Cola as a premium brand in the Russian market. Moreover, they see it as a "foreign" brand that is drunk by the wealthy, or on special occasions.
             Romania is the second largest Central European market after Poland and makes this a large battleground for Coca-Cola and Pepsi. When Pepsi established a bottling plant in Romania in 1965, it became the first U.S. product produced and sold in the region. Pepsi began producing locally during the communist period and has recently decided to reorganize and retrain its local staff. Pepsi owns 5 factories in Romania under a joint venture with Flora and Quadrant, which leases Pepsi the equipment and handles Pepsi's distribution. In addition, Pepsi bought 500 Romanian trucks which are also used for distribution in other countries. While the price of Pepsi and Coca-Cola are the same (@15 cents/bottle), some consumers drink Pepsi because the company once sent Michael Jackson to Romania for a concert. Also, some Romanians drink Pepsi because, in the past, only top officials were allowed to drink it. Coca-Cola only began producing locally in November 1991, but is outselling all of its competitors. In 1992, Coca-Cola saw an increase in Romania of sales by 99.2% and outsold Pepsi by 6 to 5. While Pepsi preferred to buy its equipment from Romania, Coca-Cola preferred to bring equipment into Romania. Also, Coca-Cola brought 2 bottlers to Romania and since has invested almost $25 million into 2 factories. Furthermore, Coca-Cola has a partnership with a local company, Ci-Co, in Bucharest and Brasov. Ci-Co has planned an aggressive publicity campaign and has sponsored local sporting and cultural events.
             The key to success in the Czech Republic is for both Coca-C...