Main Street Competition Coalition Calls on FTC to Build on Southern Glazer's Case by Targeting Dominant Power Buyers
After years of coalition advocacy, the FTC's Southern Glazer's case restored federal Robinson-Patman Act enforcement. The group says the next phase should focus on dominant national chains whose buying power distorts competition and raises prices.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Main Street Competition Coalition (MSCC) today responded to the Federal Trade Commission's settlement resolving its price discrimination case against Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, the first federal action under the Robinson-Patman Act in nearly 25 years. The coalition said the case marks the return of federal price discrimination enforcement and urged the Commission to direct its next efforts toward dominant power buyers.
The case caps a multiyear effort by the coalition and the independent businesses and farmers it represents. Those businesses pressed the FTC to revive the Robinson-Patman Act after nearly a quarter century of dormancy and helped build bipartisan support in Congress for stronger price discrimination enforcement. The Southern Glazer's case, filed in December 2024, was the first government action under the law in nearly 25 years and the kind of enforcement the coalition's members had urged for years.
The coalition said the settlement addresses only one side of the problem of sellers illegally discriminating against independent businesses. The deeper issue, it argued, is the buyer power of the largest national chains, which can use their scale to extract preferential terms unrelated to legitimate cost savings and then deploy those advantages to undercut competitors. Citing research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, economic studies on retail concentration on labor, and findings from the USDA, the coalition said this concentration of buying power ultimately raises consumer prices in concentrated markets, suppresses wages in communities dominated by a single large employer, and reduces the share of the food dollar that reaches farmers.
The coalition noted that Chairman Andrew Ferguson, in his dissent when the case was filed, wrote that the FTC should bring Robinson-Patman cases "when there is strong evidence that the favored purchasers possess market power" and that focusing on buyer market power both "directs our resources toward the conduct that most concerned Congress" and "maximizes the effect of the Commission's enforcement resources" by targeting conduct that "potentially affects the competitive process and consumers."
"Affordability is the issue at every kitchen table, and antitrust enforcement is how the government can actually bring prices down," said Chris Jones, Executive Director of the Main Street Competition Coalition. "America is stronger when Main Street is strong, but that foundation is eroding as independent businesses get squeezed by dominant buyers extracting advantages unavailable to everyone else. The FTC is right to hold sellers accountable for unlawful discrimination. If the Commission wants to address the problem at its source, its next case should focus on buyer power."
"Independent grocers work hard every day to serve their communities and keep food affordable, but they cannot compete on a level playing field when discriminatory pricing goes unchecked," said Laura Strange, Chief Public Affairs Officer of the National Grocers Association. "While this settlement resolves the case, it falls short of addressing the broader competitive challenges facing Main Street businesses. Local grocers remain up against dominant national corporations that tilt the playing field against Main Street and the farmers who supply them. Strong enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act remains essential to restoring a level playing field and protecting competition throughout the food supply chain."
Media Contact: Chris Jones | chris@cenmarkstrat.com
About the Main Street Competition Coalition: The Main Street Competition Coalition represents thousands of Main Street businesses and agricultural producers across the United States working to revitalize and reform the nation's antitrust laws. The Coalition supports policies that establish a level playing field for businesses and consumers, with the goal of promoting competition so consumers have real choices. Learn more at www.mainstreetcompetition.com.
