Distributors working with Coast Coca-Cola Bottlers have stopped operations after accusing the company’s management of unfair treatment, falling profit margins, territorial interference and repeated failure to honour commitments made during earlier talks.
The distributors have directed their complaints at the company’s leadership under Chief Executive Officer Seth Adu-Baah and Commercial Manager Joseph Yeboah Mensah, saying their working relationship with the current management has badly worsened.
They say the previous management maintained better communication, respected their business territories and responded more openly whenever distributors raised concerns about pricing, deliveries, damaged products, credit records or changes affecting their daily operations.
The distributors are now considering court action after claiming that several meetings with management failed to settle complaints that have continued affecting their businesses, employees, transport costs and ability to serve retailers across the Coast region.
At the centre of the dispute are contracts that distributors describe as restrictive, saying the agreements place heavy obligations on them but give the bottling company wide freedom to change prices, routes and supply conditions.
They are also opposed to an ecosystem financing arrangement that requires them to work through banks, arguing that transaction charges reduce already thin profit margins, particularly during low seasons when sales volumes drop.
According to the distributors, Coast Coca-Cola Bottlers has repeatedly allowed its own agents and vehicles to sell products directly within territories already assigned to independent distributors, creating competition between the company and its own business partners.
They say this direct selling has taken place without prior notice, leaving distributors with unsold stock, reduced customer orders and rising operating costs after they had already invested money in vehicles, warehouses and workers.
The distributors have also accused the company of setting sales targets that are difficult to meet within current market conditions, then using those targets when assessing performance, allocating stock or determining whether incentives should be paid.
Several promised incentives have reportedly not been honoured, with distributors claiming they have continued meeting demands placed upon them without receiving payments or benefits that management had earlier linked to sales performance.
Another major complaint concerns the money spent on crates and bottles, which distributors say are costly assets that do not increase in value and cannot be recovered through the small margins offered on product sales.
They claim the company has failed to reimburse them for products that do not meet expected standards, leaving distributors to carry losses whenever customers reject goods or when damaged stock cannot be sold.
The distributors have raised concerns about burst or damaged products, especially the returnable glass bottle Coca-Cola 500 millilitre package, saying compensation for these losses has either been delayed or completely denied.
Fuel costs have become another source of anger, with distributors saying repeated requests for a review of transport support have not produced any meaningful action, despite management previously giving assurances that the matter would be addressed.
They say rising fuel prices have increased the cost of collecting and delivering products across large territories, yet the company has continued expecting distributors to maintain the same service levels under unchanged margins.
The distributors have further accused management of supplying products that are close to their expiry dates, then sending company vehicles into the same areas to sell similar products directly to shops and other customers.
They say this practice leaves independent distributors carrying higher commercial risk, since retailers often reject older stock when newer products are available from company agents operating within the same market.
Frequent product shortages have also affected their work, with distributors saying they are often forced to take whatever stock is available instead of receiving products ordered according to demand from customers in their territories.
The distributors argue that this creates gaps in the market, affects their relationship with retailers and prevents them from planning properly, since stock supplied by the company does not always match customer buying patterns.
They have also rejected a new route-to-market system, saying the plan weakens existing distribution networks by allowing company agents to enter areas already served by independent distributors who have invested heavily in those markets.
Another complaint concerns end-of-month invoicing, with distributors claiming the company raises invoices to meet internal sales targets before deliveries are completed, creating stock allocation problems and delays in receiving products.
They say products are sometimes allocated to the wrong distributors under this arrangement, leaving businesses to correct records, wait for deliveries and explain shortages to customers who had already placed confirmed orders.
The distributors have compared their margins with those offered by other Coca-Cola bottlers, including companies serving Nairobi, and claim Coast distributors receive lower returns despite facing high transport and operating expenses.
They have also questioned the pricing of regular Coca-Cola products, saying the current prices leave little room for distributors to cover bank charges, warehouse costs, workers’ wages, vehicle maintenance and fuel expenses.
The distributors accuse some members of management of responding to complaints with disrespectful communication, broken commitments and poor treatment, saying concerns are often dismissed instead of being discussed and resolved.
They have also raised a long-running complaint about empty bottles and crates, claiming returned items have repeatedly been under-credited in company records for the past five years.
According to the distributors, the differences between the items physically returned and the credits entered into their accounts have created unexplained losses that continue growing whenever fresh stock is collected.
The distributors say operations will remain affected until Coast Coca-Cola Bottlers gives clear responses on territory protection, profit margins, damaged products, financing charges, fuel costs, empty returns, stock allocation and direct company sales.
They are demanding talks with senior management and written commitments addressing the seventeen complaints, warning that continued silence could push them towards court action and other steps aimed at protecting their businesses.