FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For media inquiries, please contact: Reggie Rucker, ILSR Communications Director
“Much of Walmart’s market dominance can be attributed to its use of this illegal and anti-competitive tactic,” says Stacy Mitchell
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 17, 2025) – Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and author of Big-Box Swindle (2006), made the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against PepsiCo, alleging the company violated the Robinson-Patman Act by giving one large big-box retailer — reportedly Walmart — unfair price advantages at the expense of competing retailers, including local independent grocery stores:
“By filing suit against PepsiCo, the FTC is sending a clear message: it is illegal for a large supplier to collaborate with a big retail chain to drive smaller retailers out of business and dominate the market. By favoring a single large chain, Walmart, with discriminatory pricing, PepsiCo’s actions have fueled the decline of local retailers, the proliferation of food deserts, and rising grocery prices.
“As our research has shown, Walmart has long exploited the lack of Robinson-Patman enforcement. For decades, the company has wielded its leverage over suppliers to extract special discounts for itself while forcing suppliers to charge independent retailers higher prices. Much of Walmart’s market dominance can be attributed to its use of this illegal and anti-competitive tactic. Today, Walmart captures $1 in every $4 Americans spend on groceries. In 43 metropolitan areas, it accounts for 50 percent or more of grocery sales. Recent research has found that Walmart has impoverished Americans.
“Reactivating the Robinson-Patman Act is essential to reviving independent retailers and restoring competition in the grocery sector. The FTC’s action today puts us on a path toward lowering grocery prices, eliminating food deserts, and revitalizing local economies. It will strengthen our communities and create more diverse and resilient supply chains.
“We commend the FTC for taking this decisive step and urge policymakers and regulators to continue prioritizing robust antitrust enforcement. It is time to ensure that our economic system works for everyone — not just the largest and most powerful corporations.”
Helpful Resources
- “The Great Grocery Squeeze.” The Atlantic. (Stacy Mitchell, December 2024) — How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert
- The Policy Shift That Decimated Local Grocery Stores (Stacy Mitchell, November 2024)
- The Case for Reviving the Robinson-Patman Act (Katy Milani and Stacy Mitchell, August 2024)
- “The Real Reason Your Groceries Are Getting So Expensive.” New York Times. (Stacy Mitchell 2023)
- Fixing the Food Gap: Antitrust Action and Grassroots Solutions to Check Dollar Stores and Rebuild Local Grocery Stores (ILSR Event with FTC Commissioner Bedoya and community leaders, May 2023)
- Boxed Out: How Big Retailers are Flexing Their Supply Chain Power to Kill Off Small Businesses (ILSR report by Stacy Mitchell and Ron Knox, September 2022)
- Walmart’s Monopolization of Local Grocery Markets (Stacy Mitchell, June 2019) — In 43 metropolitan areas and 160 micropolitan markets, Walmart captures 50 percent or more of grocery sales, our analysis of 2018 spending data found.
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