The National Grocers Association has submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission on how predatory action by dominant retailers in the grocery marketplace leads to unfair contract terms for independent grocers. According to the association, this anticompetitive behavior leaves independent store owners and their customers with fewer options and paying more for products.
“The result of this unchecked buyer power is a system that benefits a select few at the expense of everyone else, including consumers, workers and independent retailers and suppliers: consumers have a narrowing range of choice to shop for the goods and services they need; entrepreneurs and independent businesses struggle to start and sustain businesses; and producers such as farmers and ranchers are forced to accept unfavorable economic terms, conditions and prices imposed by the largest members of a consolidated supply chain,” NGA wrote in its comments.
The NGA suggested the FTC investigate whether power buyers like Walmart and Amazon are pressuring suppliers to give them favorable contract terms and in turn, charging higher prices and offering fewer products and product sizes to independently owned retailers.
The NGA spoke on this issue in July, when the association’s senior vice president of government affairs and counsel, Christopher Jones, testified at an open FTC hearing about the effects of economic discrimination on the grocery marketplace.
Related: AWG's Smith Testifies on the Impact of 'Power Buyers'; NGA: Independent Grocers Contribute to U.S. Economy.