This morning's announcement that Cott Corporation is losing private label shelf-space to brand name products at Wal-Mart did not surprise. This is a company that was made successful by a visionary, Gerry Pencer, who died and left his legacy to bookkeepers and treasury officials that have no contact with consumer reality.

My business involvement with this company was to find a launchpad for a niche branded juice product in 2005, which had regional success in the US, and no presence in Canada. The soda pop market was in retrench mode, with major brands discounting so heavily that Private Label/Cott brands had almost no competitive advantage, and carbonated synthetic beverages were on a downward slide due to the healthier lifestyle trend. What I discovered was that Cott not own a transportation fleet to distribute this product to new retail channels (all private label brands send their trucks to the bottling plant). A bit of a shock when being brought in to figure out how to launch a new brand to new retail segments for a company I thought was in the distribution business.

Having no way to deliver this juice product, I went above and beyond the call of duty and located a Canadian owned-and-operated beverage distributor that could deliver to National retail markets (non-grocery) that was not competitive, and was motivated to work with Cott Corp. (Hooray!). I had set up for a meeting of minds, when it came down to me through the corporate hierarchy that Cott Canada had no stomach for marketing branded products that its reps could not, in all likelihood, be trained to push to new retail outlets. Its sales team were too entrenched in taking number orders from its tried-and-true customers. It just did not fit with its low-margin, sell-through business model. Another way of saying that the CEO might get shouted at by shareholders for frivolous marketing investment in products that people actually want to buy, because they are healthy and refreshing. Left-brain marketing way out in left field for the bean-counting Centre Field.

Ironically, the showcase of Cott Corporation products in its reception shows that its entrepreneurial origins were in selling its own brand of beverages. But the juggernaut of private label, low-cost volume business from which it derives its income has completely annihilated any vision for delivering fresh, innovative ideas to customers. The closest it gets is to go into partnership with other brands, like the recently announced tie-in with Throwdown, a US sports-energy drink - a bit like attaching the aircraft carrier's fortunes to the tugboat captain. "You market it, we'll bottle it."

I often refer back to my blog entry "If all the Raindrops Were Shareholders and Customers, Oh What a Joy That Would Be." (Oct. 2006), simply because shareholder blinkers are one of the great paralyzers of boardroom progress. It takes more than fiscal responsibility and vision to build a strong business. It takes a customer-centric attitude. Without it, one day you are going to find 90% of your share value has evaporated, while you are still the largest producer of soft drinks in the world.

Volume-wise Cott, I believe sells more bottled water than anything else. Where is that market going in a greener world, I wonder? I was disappointed with the outcome of my endeavours with Cott. The product was good, the market was ready, the distribution model was available, but there was no relationship between the Boardroom and the customer on the street. I can't move mountains and the same marketing team that brought me in did not stay on long either. I wish them well. It's a good thing I am not the sort of guy to say "I told you so."