New York, April 20 - Wal-Mart Stores Inc may have cut the amount of shelf space it gives the bottled water brands of Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc , according to a prominent beverage analyst.
Bill Pecoriello of ConsumerEdge Research said he believes that beginning in April, Wal-Mart cut shelf space nationwide for Pepsi's Aquafina water and Coke's Dasani water by about 50 percent each as the world's largest retailer pushes lower-priced brands, including its own private label water.
Wal-Mart could even remove Aquafina and Dasani from its stores altogether, he said.
Pecoriello, who founded ConsumerEdge after leaving Morgan Stanley , said private label soft drink maker Cott Corp is likely picking up some of the space, along with other low-priced regional brands.
Spokesmen from Wal-Mart, Pepsi and Coke all declined to comment.
Pecoriello estimated sales to Wal-Mart make up about 12 percent to 15 percent of total volume for Aquafina and Dasani.
The pullback from Wal-Mart could also impact U.S. volume for the companies' bottlers, such as Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc , Pecoriello said.
He estimated that bottled water makes up about 8 percent to 10 percent of U.S. bottlers' domestic volume, and could therefore impact volume trends in the second through fourth quarters.
Pecoriello noted that bottled water is a low-margin business, so the profit impact is much smaller than the volume impact.
Coke shares were down 0.3 percent to $44.98 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Pepsi shares were up 0.2 percent at $52.05.