They then send pictures of the building to Hungary, where Raszter works with about 1,500 graphic images from Coke s international headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. After approvals from Moscow, Vladivostok and the building owner, Hungarian workers execute the computer-generated design here. Russian workers would cost three times more, says Far East Coke s marketing manager Victoria Kehvlya. Hollbrook says Coke is the top-selling soft drink in the city, and off to a good start this year. But he declined to say for publication whether the company is meeting its sales goals this quarter.
Customers get a lower price on the next purchase if the first bottle is turned in.
The returnable bottle is successful 60 to 70 percent of the bottles are returned, according to Kehvlya. One reason for this, she says, is Russians tendency to recycle and save. Vladivostok is also participating in a nationwide Coca-Cola promotion called Find the Secret Formula, although Hollbrook predicts it will take Vladivostok residents a while to catch on to the gimmick. Banks, who plans to be in Vladivostok for two years, replaces Martin Quirk who left in July. Banks formerly w orked for three years for a mobile phone company in Belorussia.