1、巴菲特早在1936年就通过家里的杂货铺,早就观察过可乐的消费者和定价能力,25美分进货、50美分出售;消费者仍然对可口可乐趋之若鹜。
2、1981年以后,可口可乐公司换了新管理层,Roberto Goizueta + Don Keough(巴菲特的邻居),新管理层重新制定公司的政策,不再搞多元化,专注于饮料;
3、全球化扩张,持续爆发;
4、Roberto是一个 既懂营销+又懂财务 的高手,可以让产品的增长最大化,也可以让股东充分地享受增长的回报。
Through a truly rare blend of marketing and financial skills, Roberto has maximized both the growth of his product and the rewards that this growth brings to shareholders.
巴菲特还谈了谈自己对消费品生意的理解:通常情况下,一家消费品公司的CEO,凭借他的倾向、经验,会偏向 营销、或者财务 中的某一个科目,并以牺牲另一科目为代价。但是在Roberto这里,两者实现完美融合,这是股东的梦想。
Normally, the CEO of a consumer products company, drawing on his natural inclinations or experience, will cause either marketing or finance to dominate the business at the expense of the other discipline. With Roberto, the mesh of marketing and finance is perfect and the result is a shareholder's dream.
“每年总会有好几次,一些举足轻重、态度严谨的投资者在审视可口可乐的历史业绩时,目光长远且充满敬意,但最后总会遗憾地得出结论:自己看的时间太晚了。‘市场饱和’与‘竞争压力’的阴云在他面前挥之不去。”——来自1938年财富杂志报道
是的,竞争在1938年和1993年都会存在。
但是,同样值得关注的是,尽管可口可乐在1938年就成为了他所在市场上的霸王龙,他的销量在55年间还是翻了50倍,在1938年卖了2.07亿箱,在1993年卖了100.7亿箱。
Yes, competition there was in 1938 and in 1993 as well. But it's worth noting that in 1938 The Coca-Cola Co. sold 207 million cases of soft drinks (if its gallonage then is converted into the 192-ounce cases used for measurement today) and in 1993 it sold about 10.7 billion cases, a 50-fold increase in physical volume from a company that in 1938 was already dominant in its very major industry.
对于投资者而言,1938年的派对也远未结束:尽管1919年投入40美元购买的一股股票(在红利再投资的情况下)到1938年底已增值至3,277美元,但如果当时在那时再投入一笔新的40美元购买可口可乐股票,到1993年底,这笔钱依然会增长到25,000美元。(CAGR 12.22%)
我忍不住要再引用一段1938年财富杂志里的故事::‘很难再找出一家具备可口可乐这样的规模,且像它一样销售着数十年如一日的产品,还能拿出任何像可口可乐这样过去十年业绩表现的公司了。’自那以后的 55 年里,尽管可口可乐的产品线有所扩大,但令人惊叹的是,这段描述在今天看来依然如此贴切。”
I can't resist one more quote from that 1938 Fortune story: "It would be hard to name any company comparable in size to Coca-Cola and selling, as Coca-Cola does, an unchanged product that can point to a ten-year record anything like Coca-Cola's." In the 55 years that have since passed, Coke's product line has broadened somewhat, but it's remarkable how well that description still fits.