Source: Washington Monthly
by Jarod Facundo
“Conventional wisdom holds that Walmart’s low prices reflect volume discounts and economies of scale used by the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer—America’s largest employer and largest grocery retailer by sales. But the PepsiCo suit, brought by the FTC under its then-Chair Lina Khan, presented evidence of the opposite of efficiency: PepsiCo’s painstaking micromanagement of prices to protect its most powerful buyer. For consumers, this raises the possibility that Walmart’s market power does not, at least in this case, discipline prices downward, but inflates them across the market. … But before the FTC suit regarding PepsiCo was filed in January 2025, private plaintiff antitrust suits against Walmart and battery maker Energizer had already been underway for two years. These cases, which have received scant media attention, provide another set of allegations that Walmart may be influencing its suppliers’ pricing decisions in ways that harm consumers.” (11/12/260
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/11/12/did-walmart-use-market-power-to-rig-battery-prices/