Cott Corp. (COT)

[BooDog]

Cott loses Wal-Mart exclusivityTampa Bay Business Journal

Cott Corp. said its exclusive supply agreement with Wal-Mart Stores would end in three years.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) advised Cott that it had decided to terminate the agreement, a release from Cott said. Under the 10-year-old agreement, Cott was the exclusive supplier of retailer brand carbonated soft drinks to Wal-Mart in the United States.

The termination is effective on the third anniversary of the notification, or in late January 2012. The action allows Wal-Mart to cut Cott products by as much as one-third in the first year and two-thirds in the second year.

Conversations with Wal-Mart are ongoing and the impact on Cott’s business is unclear, a release said, adding that Cott would remain a supplier to Wal-Mart.

Cott (NSE: COT), based in Toronto with senior management and a plant in Tampa, manufactures and distributes soft drinks with retailer brand names.