Chapter 298: Chapter 298 The Dilemma Of Coca Cola

"Stop it, stop all prize redemption nationwide. From now on, the prize campaign is suspended. Notify all distributors to inform their networks," the president quickly ordered.

While notifying distributors was easy, informing all small stores was challenging. These small grocery stores and supermarkets were scattered all over the country, many of which didn't have direct contact with distributors.

How to notify them? Door to door? That was impossible, they didn't have the manpower.

It wasn't like in the 21st century, where a single group message could inform everyone nationwide. They could only make phone calls, but many distributors didn't have contact details for the small stores.

While Coca Cola struggled to notify everyone, many small stores continued redeeming bottle caps, each losing dozens to hundreds of dollars.

The president informed the chairman, who also realized the gravity of the situation, "Investigate immediately. If fraud is confirmed, call the police."

The investigation wasn't difficult. Soon, they gathered a large batch of bottle caps, particularly the Virgo and Gemini caps. Though well made, they were slightly different from the official ones upon inspection.

However, the average person couldn't tell the difference, believing them to be real.

The police were notified.

The matter was significant, involving the FBI in the investigation. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Through the FBI's probe, they found that local small time crooks were selling the caps. Many were arrested and questioned, but they knew very little, only that someone approached them to sell the caps for 20 cents each.

The FBI found that thousands of small time crooks were involved, but their suppliers were untraceable.

The trail went cold.

It wasn't the 21st century with advanced technology. Following Hardy's orders, Bill created at least five layers of disconnection.

News of the fraudulent prize campaign soon reached the media. Within a day, major newspapers reported it.

The New York Times:

"Coca Cola Prize Campaign Halted: Massive Counterfeit Caps Discovered. Prizes Redeemed Exceed the Issued Amount. Coca Cola Reports Losses Over a Million Dollars, Involving Police Investigation."

The Globe:

"In the Coca Cola Prize Incident, many small store and supermarket owners expressed frustration. Initially, Coca Cola promised to reimburse prize redemption, but now, each store has fronted dozens to hundreds of dollars, seeking compensation from Coca Cola, which has yet to respond.

"According to our rough estimates, with tens of thousands of distributors nationwide, the loss could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Will Coca Cola let distributors bear this loss? We await their reasonable explanation."

The Los Angles Times:

"Coca Cola Urgently Holds Shareholders Meeting, Deciding to Remove the Current President. The New President's First Task is to Resolve the Bottle Cap Incident. We await a proper resolution."

"The Bottle Cap Incident Severely Affects Coca Cola's Sales and Reputation, Causing a Significant Drop in Stock Price, Plummeting 26% Yesterday."

In light of this incident, reporters interviewed PepsiCo, the first company to launch a prize campaign.

Walter Mack, PepsiCo's Chairman and CEO, stated, "PepsiCo will prevent such incidents. We've updated our prize redemption mechanism, eliminating small prizes and adopting a code system."

"How do you redeem the prize code?" the reporter asked.

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"Pepsi will cancel small prizes and replace them with bigger prizes ranging from $5, $10, $20, to $100. Each bottle cap has a unique redemption code and an anti-counterfeit code. Periodically, the company will conduct random draw events, and the winning numbers will be published in the newspaper. Winners can mail their bottle caps to the Pepsi company.

Once confirmed, Pepsi will send a check to the winners by mail."

While Pepsi has resolved its issue, Coca Cola is still in a mess. Many customers with bottle caps cannot redeem their prizes. These caps were bought with money, and instead of making a profit, they've incurred a loss. Naturally, these customers have grievances against Coca Cola.

The complaints from distributors are even greater.

They have invested tens to hundreds of dollars, but now Coca Cola has not provided a solution, leaving many distributors very angry. During this period, many stores and supermarkets have temporarily stopped stocking Coca Cola products.

The distributors are also in a tough spot. Initially, Coca Cola promised to pay the prize money and then deduct it from their invoices. But now, Coca Cola won't take the hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of prize winning bottle caps that are stacked up in the warehouses of each distributor.

Who will bear this loss?

Coca Cola is now in a dilemma. If they don't pay, their distribution channels may collapse, and rebuilding new sales channels will be costly.

If they do pay, the prize money in the hands of the distributors amounts to two to three million dollars, which is also hard for Coca Cola to bear.

The previous CEO hoped to maintain credibility and proposed to the board to approve the redemption to resolve the issue, but the board rejected it, leading to his dismissal and the appointment of a new CEO.

The new CEO upheld the board's decision and planned to default.

However, they couldn't blatantly refuse, so they used delaying tactics, avoiding public clarification on how they would handle it.

Due to Coca Cola's irresponsible attitude, its reputation severely declined, and its stock plummeted again.

While Coca Cola was still struggling, Hardy had already moved on to organizing the "Super Idol" talent show.

February 14th.

Valentine's Day.

On this day, the Global Times published a significant announcement, "ABC Television will host a 'Super Idol' talent show. Regardless of which nationality you have, whether male or female, if you are between 12 and 28 years old, you can participate by coming to the City of Los Angeles.

"If you have a beautiful voice or stunning looks, don't suppress your talents. Just make it to the finals, and you might secure a contract with HD Records to release a personal album. If you win the championship, the company will produce a classic album for you.

"Come and participate in the auditions, this is the starting point for your glittering star journey!"

The announcement provided details on audition registration locations, methods, and preliminary competition rules.