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Among other things, Goizueta unleashed the blizzard of mega-brand marketing that produced Diet Coke, Cherry Coke and (still being tested) Diet Cherry Coke, not to mention new Coke and the hurried reincarnation of old Coke as Coca-Cola Classic. He shook up the company's mostly franchised bottling operations, causing about 100 of the outlets, supplying roughly 70% of the U.S. market, to change hands. Goizueta's most radical step has been to overturn the cash-heavy financial management championed by longtime Coca-Cola Chairman Robert Woodruff. During Goizueta's reign, Coca-Cola has borrowed $1.3 billion, mostly to finance his string of entertainment acquisitions.
Goizueta took his first big stride away from soft drinks in 1982 with the $700 million purchase of Columbia Pictures. At a stroke, that gave Coca-Cola control over the last major independent film producer in Hollywood, a substantial movie inventory and a television division that produces such popular shows as T.J. Hooker and Days of Our Lives. At first Columbia churned out movie after movie, as if trying to muscle its way to a bigger market share. That approach led to one smash hit, Ghostbusters, and a string of expensive clinkers, including The Slugger's Wife, Perfect and Crossroads. But at the same time, Columbia forged a deal with Home Box Office and CBS to create Tri-Star Pictures as a jointly financed vehicle for movie production, an arrangement that now earns millions for Coca-Cola.
Goizueta's second major Hollywood raid came last August with the $485 million buy-out of Embassy Communications and Tandem Productions. Embassy currently has five shows on the air, including Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons and ABC television's surprise hit, Who's the Boss? More important, Embassy, which was formerly owned by Producers Norman Lear and Jerrold Perenchio, holds syndication rights to such shows as Maude, Sanford & Son, One Day at a Time and The Jeffersons. Mike Mellon, a vice president of research for Walt Disney Productions, estimates the value of Embassy's rights at $500 million.
Early last month Goizueta pounced again as Coca-Cola bought Merv Griffin Enterprises for an undisclosed sum, which some television analysts estimated at $200 million to $250 million. The new acquisition is expected to have earnings of $170 million this year, largely from the Merv Griffin Show and the popular game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Coca-Cola also has shares in a number of joint ventures, including a 50% stake in a home video operation with RCA.
Income from Coca-Cola's entertainment sector reached $161 million last year, a 33% increase over 1984 and equal to about 10% of the company's overall $ 1985 operating income of $1.045 billion. Considering that promising start, no one believes that Coke's Hollywood shopping spree is over. Says Frank Biondi, executive vice president of the company's entertainment division: "We remain, in the vernacular, on the make." Says Disney's Mellon: "Coke wants to take over everybody. The only number they'll be satisfied with is No. 1."