FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For media inquiries, please contact: Reggie Rucker, ILSR Communications Director
“Consumers will feel the benefits through greater choice, lower prices, and vibrant neighborhood business districts,” says Stacy Mitchell
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 12, 2024) – Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), made the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, alleging the company violated the Robinson-Patman Act, harming independent retailers and impeding their ability to compete against large chains:
“We applaud the Federal Trade Commission for reviving the Robinson-Patman Act, a crucially important antitrust law that the agency has largely declined to enforce since the 1980s. Today’s action puts dominant retailers and suppliers on notice that leveraging their power in the supply chain to force small, independent retailers out of business is illegal.
“The FTC’s decision to abandon the Robinson-Patman Act was one of the most consequential policy decisions of the last 50 years. It paved the way for corporate giants like Walmart to gain outsized control over the economy — not by competing fairly, but by exploiting their power over suppliers. Failure to enforce the law has decimated independent retailers, leading to widespread harms — the erosion of community vitality, the rise of food and pharmacy deserts, and higher prices with fewer choices as competition has disappeared.
“Since 1982, the market share of independent retailers has fallen from 53 percent to 22 percent, according to our analysis of U.S. Census data.
“Reactivating the Robinson-Patman Act promises to stop powerful chains from using their size and financial clout to stifle competition and corner markets. It will open the way for a revival of local, independent retailers and small manufacturers, making our communities stronger and our supply chains more diversified and resilient. Consumers will feel the benefits through greater choice, lower prices, and vibrant neighborhood business districts.
“This case is also important in its own right. Southern Glazer’s alleged discrimination flouts both the federal Robinson-Patman Act and the intent behind numerous state laws designed to preserve competition in the alcohol industry. It puts independent retailers at a blatant disadvantage, unfairly tilting the competitive playing field in favor of large chains like Kroger and Total Wine. Congress enacted the Robinson-Patman Act to safeguard fairness and competition; Southern Glazer’s alleged actions have made the industry less fair and less competitive.”
For more resources from ILSR on the Robinson-Patman Act, please see:
- “The Great Grocery Squeeze,” The Atlantic. (Stacy Mitchell, December 2024)
- 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)
- Boxed Out: How Big Retailers are Flexing Their Supply Chain Power to Kill Off Small Businesses (Stacy Mitchell and Ron Knox, September 2022)
- “The Real Reason Your Groceries Are Getting So Expensive.” New York Times. (Stacy Mitchell, May 2023)
- Fixing the Food Gap: Antitrust Action and Grassroots Solutions to Check Dollar Stores and Rebuild Local Grocery Stores (Event, May 2023)
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