Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Comes to St. Petersburg

Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, a Whitman Company, has reached agreement with Pepsi-Cola International to distribute Pepsi-Cola products in areas of Northwestern Russia, which includes the city of St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Murmansk; the Kalingrad region; Belarus; and the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Bruce S. Chelberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Whitman said, "This is a landmark event for our company, a giant step in our strategy to expand into emerging markets to grow rapidly as we establish distribution systems and actively promote the product. When fully developed, these markets could generate total sales in the neighborhood of $500 million."

Whitman expects to invest approximately $165 million over the next five years for production facilities and distribution systems. Pepsi General will also rely on local contractors, wholesalers, and independent distributors to serve major markets.

Pepsi General is the largest independent Pepsi bottler in the United States, serving a market of 25 million people in 12 states.

Whitman Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the United States, also owns Midas International, the world's largest franchised dealer network specializing in under-the-car services, and Hussman Corporation, the leading producer of refrigeration and display systems for the world's food stores.