236 InManagersWeTrust
through 1990, assuming reinvestment of dividends, was 37%, and
from 1986 through 1990, it was 34%.
Driving these spectacular results, Goizueta repeatedly empha-
sized, was growth in unit case volume. From 1985 through 1995, unit
case volume outside North America grew at an average annual com-
pound rate of 8.2%, while within the United States it grew at an
average annual compound rate of 4.2% (compared with 2.7% indus-
trywide). In 1996 Coca-Cola set another record, with worldwide unit
case volume up 8% and selling 13.7 billion unit cases. Sales of the
Coca-Cola brand itself grew by nearly 450 million unit cases (a 6%
increase over 1995), while Sprite grew by more than 138 million unit
cases (up 13%, its third consecutive year of double-digit growth).
Owner Orientation and Long-Term Thinking
Adding fuel to this unstoppable engine was Goizueta’s business phi-
losophy. Goizueta saw himself as the steward of shareholder capital,
always tying Coke’s activities to shareholder values. He said that
“solid unit case volume growth is the foundation for generating eco-
nomic profit, which, experience teaches us, is the key to increasing
the value of [our shareowners’ investment].”
Under Goizueta, Coke focused on its core businesses and
adopted a long-term time horizon. Through disciplined and patient
attention to building the Coke brand for the long term, Goizueta
also created another trademar kat Co ke: a company with an un-
quenchable thirst for selling more product to more customers all
over the world.
Goizueta believed that “the best way to generate consistently
strong short-term results is to keep our attention riveted on the long-
term.” That long-term focus during the 1980s and 1990s meant build-
ing step by step a “global business machine capable of sustaining
strong, profitable growth” over the decades to come.
Branding
At the foundation of that global business is the Coke brand. It “not
only has universal appeal and accessibility, but also meets the fun-
damental, frequently recurring human need for refreshment.” To get
people to choose Coke to meet their daily liquid needs, building