Coca-Cola reportedly plans to raise prices of some of its beverage products sold through vending machines in Japan by 10 yen when country's consumption tax rate rises 3 percentage points to 8% in April

Nevin Barich

TOKYO , January 13, 2014 (Jiji Press) – The Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. group plans to raise the prices of some of its beverage products sold through vending machines in Japan by 10 yen when the country's consumption tax rate is hiked by 3 percentage points to 8 pct in April, informed sources said Friday.

The group plans to keep the prices of other drinks unchanged so that its overall sales through vending machines will rise by 3 pct, the sources said.

The move comes after the Japan Soft Drink Association reported to the Fair Trade Commission last November a plan to form a special cartel designed to pass the tax hike on to consumers. Such a cartel is allowed under a special law, which came into force on Oct. 1 last year.

Following in the footsteps of the Coca-Cola group, the top soft drink industry player in Japan, other beverage makers are also seen opting to raise the prices of only part of their products in line with the tax increase.

The Coca-Cola group is studying various options for the markup. One idea is to raise the price of its mainstay Coca-Cola carbonated drink while leaving the prices of some coffee products, and another option is to mark up products in plastic bottles while continuing to sell canned beverages at the current prices, according to the sources.

The scope of products subject to the price hike could differ among the group's eight regional bottlers, to better reflect sales trends in each region, the sources said.END

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