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The continued saga between the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) and Florida-based distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits continues. In keeping with CNBC, the FTC plans to file its long-expected lawsuit someday within the subsequent few weeks, with alleged “secret kickbacks” strengthening their case.
The FTC first opened an antitrust investigation into Southern Glazer’s, the most important alcohol distributor within the U.S., in March 2023. The probe sought to analyze if the distributor’s beer, wine, and liquor pricing was in violation of the Robinson-Patman Act and Part 5 of the FTC Act, which each prohibit unfair commerce practices.The Robinson-Patman Act was ratified in 1936 with the intent to guard companies from value discrimination, which “could give favored prospects an edge out there that has nothing to do with their superior effectivity.” In keeping with its restrictions, any vendor charging “competing consumers totally different costs for a similar commodity” could be in violation of the Act.
As a part of the continuing case, the FTC sued beverage retailer Whole Wine in October 2023, looking for a federal court docket order to pressure the corporate’s compliance within the investigation towards Southern Glazer’s. In keeping with the FTC, Whole Wine initially refused to adjust to the probe, which delayed its progress for months. The FTC has continued constructing its case towards Southern Glazer’s, and as CNBC reported Wednesday, the go well with may lastly be filed earlier than the top of the month. In keeping with the information outlet, the crux of the FTC’s case suggests the distributor has been offering “secret kickbacks” to massive retailers.
This case is only one instance in a collection of antitrust circumstances applied by the Biden administration. This yr, the Justice Division has filed related lawsuits towards Ticketmaster and Apple, and blocked main shopper items mergers.
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