Southern Glazer’s — the largest alcohol distributor in the United States — is being targeted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a new antitrust probe investigating how the company prices its beer, wine, and liquor. Sources report to Politico that the FTC is seeking information regarding the distributor’s potential violations of the Robinson-Patman Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Ratified in 1936, the Robinson-Patman Act is intended to protect businesses from price discrimination, which “may give favored customers an edge in the market that has nothing to do with their superior efficiency.” According to the Act, any seller “charging competing buyers different prices for the same ‘commodity’ […] may be violating the Robinson-Patman Act.”
