The Federal Trade Commission just launched the first major investigation into shortages and monopoly power, sending letters to Amazon, Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Proctor & Gamble. This matters.
If you have never heard the term "slotting fees" I suggest you do some research. Associated Wholesale Grocers is notorious for these. A product line of 8 SKUs could be $200-$400k PER warehouse location. Then each grocery store chain will want their first case free that pulls out of an AWG warehouse. As a food start up you better have DEEP pockets to give away your product at no charge for the first 12 months. To top it off, AWG has dozens of non negotiable "deductions" that have very little remedy or recourse. "The cost of doing business". They won't even let you unload your own trucks. Read any review of a AWG warehouse and read the trucker reviews. Thanks for looking into it!
If we're talking monopolies in Canada, telecom should be top of the list. The big 3 (Rogers, Telus and Bell) have colluded to exploit Canadians so effectively that we have worse phone and internet plans than many third world countries.
On the right to repair subject (one that is dear to me) it's going to be hard to make a bill with any teeth to it, As long as companies like Apple can whip chip manufacturers into not making a chip that's essential to repair available, nothing will change.. There will be some lip service (Like Apple's "Independent repair program") which is intrusive to the business, and actually REDUCES your ability to repair under contract
Look up Louis Rossmann on youtube/discord/twitch
For a specific example the ISL9240 chip is unavailable to the public,and wouldn't you know it, it's one of the most common failure points on Apple computers
I remember in the '80s, the poor and downtrodden Soviet citizens were lined up outside every store for bread and everything else because of their inferior communist system. Communism is inferior to a free market because it is a government system without competition or choice - like a monopoly. Monopolies don't work in business, government or anything else and everybody should know it, especially the chamber of commerce. They do in fact know it but are corrupt - might as well be called the Chamber of Communism.
Fantastic overview...my concern is whether this current iteration of SCOTUS (bought and paid for by monopolistic billionaires) will actively hamper the efforts of the FTC.
Thanks for connecting the dots on investigations leading to actual action (crazy that we live in a time where it's not obvious that "studying things" can actually lead to something more than sound bytes).
"Power buying is why large firms like Walmart are out-competing small ones. Walmart, for instance, tells its suppliers they must deliver on time 98% of the time, or it will fine them 3% of the cost of goods. “Known in the industry as "power buyers," large retailers have had an advantage for years when buying goods because they order larger quantities than smaller wholesalers do,” wrote CNN’s Nathan Meyersohn on this problem. “Large retailers' scale and buying clout make them a top priority for manufacturers, he said, and they often get promotions, special packaging or new products early.”"
Is this news to anyone? Has anyone ever refused their free cookie on a "buy 3, get the 4th free" offer at their local store because it promotes "price discrimination". Economies of scale are basic, well, economics. Further, many of those "first in line" assumptions are contractually negotiated, similar to first in line debtors. They get to be first in line because they produce enough economic value to their suppliers/customers that they can swing that axe.
Moving further back, they have also built up appropriate infrastructure and business value over the course of decades. But due to this new-found "price discrimination" term that functions mysteriously like "equity", we will now see unelected half-wit bureaucrats make decisions to "socialize" that purchasing power for the greater good...because that has always led to Utopia....
Microsoft is again trying to tie its browser to its operating system, this time with third party add-ons. It's responding to user pushback though. Maybe because of reasons mentioned in this BIG post?
Matt, I really believe you and your colleagues are making a difference. Love ya :)
If you have never heard the term "slotting fees" I suggest you do some research. Associated Wholesale Grocers is notorious for these. A product line of 8 SKUs could be $200-$400k PER warehouse location. Then each grocery store chain will want their first case free that pulls out of an AWG warehouse. As a food start up you better have DEEP pockets to give away your product at no charge for the first 12 months. To top it off, AWG has dozens of non negotiable "deductions" that have very little remedy or recourse. "The cost of doing business". They won't even let you unload your own trucks. Read any review of a AWG warehouse and read the trucker reviews. Thanks for looking into it!
If we're talking monopolies in Canada, telecom should be top of the list. The big 3 (Rogers, Telus and Bell) have colluded to exploit Canadians so effectively that we have worse phone and internet plans than many third world countries.
On the right to repair subject (one that is dear to me) it's going to be hard to make a bill with any teeth to it, As long as companies like Apple can whip chip manufacturers into not making a chip that's essential to repair available, nothing will change.. There will be some lip service (Like Apple's "Independent repair program") which is intrusive to the business, and actually REDUCES your ability to repair under contract
Look up Louis Rossmann on youtube/discord/twitch
For a specific example the ISL9240 chip is unavailable to the public,and wouldn't you know it, it's one of the most common failure points on Apple computers
Here's a facebook post on Renesas' page about it https://www.facebook.com/RenesasElectronics/posts/630591584068516
I remember in the '80s, the poor and downtrodden Soviet citizens were lined up outside every store for bread and everything else because of their inferior communist system. Communism is inferior to a free market because it is a government system without competition or choice - like a monopoly. Monopolies don't work in business, government or anything else and everybody should know it, especially the chamber of commerce. They do in fact know it but are corrupt - might as well be called the Chamber of Communism.
Fantastic overview...my concern is whether this current iteration of SCOTUS (bought and paid for by monopolistic billionaires) will actively hamper the efforts of the FTC.
Thanks for connecting the dots on investigations leading to actual action (crazy that we live in a time where it's not obvious that "studying things" can actually lead to something more than sound bytes).
"Power buying is why large firms like Walmart are out-competing small ones. Walmart, for instance, tells its suppliers they must deliver on time 98% of the time, or it will fine them 3% of the cost of goods. “Known in the industry as "power buyers," large retailers have had an advantage for years when buying goods because they order larger quantities than smaller wholesalers do,” wrote CNN’s Nathan Meyersohn on this problem. “Large retailers' scale and buying clout make them a top priority for manufacturers, he said, and they often get promotions, special packaging or new products early.”"
Is this news to anyone? Has anyone ever refused their free cookie on a "buy 3, get the 4th free" offer at their local store because it promotes "price discrimination". Economies of scale are basic, well, economics. Further, many of those "first in line" assumptions are contractually negotiated, similar to first in line debtors. They get to be first in line because they produce enough economic value to their suppliers/customers that they can swing that axe.
Moving further back, they have also built up appropriate infrastructure and business value over the course of decades. But due to this new-found "price discrimination" term that functions mysteriously like "equity", we will now see unelected half-wit bureaucrats make decisions to "socialize" that purchasing power for the greater good...because that has always led to Utopia....
Microsoft is again trying to tie its browser to its operating system, this time with third party add-ons. It's responding to user pushback though. Maybe because of reasons mentioned in this BIG post?
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/15/22782802/microsoft-block-edgedeflector-windows-11
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/12/browser-switching-gets-marginally-easier-in-latest-windows-11-preview/
Another great piece - have you ever testified before a House or Sen subcommittee?