I wonder... what would have happened if they fixed the price at 1c, forcing the bottlers out of business, then renegotiated the contract i.e. void the contract and we'll stop advertising it as 1c. The fountain stuff could have kept Coke in business then it is a war of attrition?
Coke couldn't fix the puce, Coke advertised it. People were free to sell it as they pleased. I imagine if Coke advertised the product at 1c stores would disregard the advertising and it would be a pointless waste of money from Coke in that they would lose all control as no-one would now expect to pay the advertised price.
They are kind of fixing the price now. I see small cans of coke (250 ml) with a large logo stating: "Maximum price $2." [1]
I'm guessing you could legally sell these cans for whatever you want, but consumers would probably not like to pay more for something that has its "maximum" price stated in the design of the can.
Arizona Iced Tea (used to?) have a prominent $0.99 price on the label and I occasionally saw it for sale at gas stations for substantially above that price, on a percentage basis, e.g. $1.69.
For those interested, fixing the price is called "resale price maintenance," and fixing it at an unsustainable low level to force someone's hand is called "predatory pricing," and it happens.
