Consider the following case: Germany was a growing market for Coca-Cola, along with other countries in Europe, before World War II. With the previous data given, calculate the company's sales growth rate for each time period in the following table: Pharmacist John S. Pemberton invented a soft drink in 1886 that eventually became not only an integral part of everyday life in the United States but also a symbol of consumerism worldwide. In 1929 the first Coca-Cola vending machines were installed in Germany, and in 1930, the German branch of the Coca-Cola Co. opened in Essen. Coca-Cola sales in Germany were 243,000 cases in 1934, 1 million cases in 1936, and 4.5 million cases in 1939. Growth Rate Years 1934-1936 1936-1939 1934-1939 (Source: "Coca-Cola GmbH and World War Two," www.gettherealfacts.co.uk/docs/gmbh.pdf) During World War II, Coca-Cola Co. cut off all syrup sales to Germany in 1940, resulting in no sales from 1943 to 1945. If Coca-Cola's sales had grown from 1939 to 1945 at the same rate that they grew between 1934 and 1939, its sales in 1945 would have been approximately cases. (Hint: Use sales data from 1939 as the present value.) Coca-Cola's worldwide sales as of December 31, 2011, was 26.7 billion cases. Assume the following sales distribution: Unit Case Volume Eastern Europe 20% Germany 16% Spain 14% Great Britain 12% Italy 9% France 8% Other 21% If Coca-Cola's worldwide growth were to continue at the same growth rate as it did in Germany between 1939 and 2008, when sales grew at the rate of 10.26%, its hypothetical sales in Spain in 2053 (42 years from 2011) would be approximately billion cases. (Note: For this question, ignore other factors that affect sales.)