In March, British officials launched an inquiry to examine the competitive impacts of a merger between two of the country’s top supermarket chains. The findings could derail attempts by Britain’s top three and number five chains—Tesco, Sainsbury, Wal-Mart-owned Asda, and Morrison—to purchase the fourth largest grocery chain, Safeway.… Read More
In February, the city of Bozeman, Montana, enacted an ordinance limiting retail stores to no more than 75,000 square feet. The measure makes permanent a temporary moratorium on construction of large retail stores in place for the past year. The ordinance was approved by a 3-2 vote of the City Commission and took effect on March 21.… Read More
After a ten-month investigation of Wal-Mart, Mexican antitrust officials have imposed a code of conduct on the company and other large supermarket chains. The Mexican Federal Competition Commission (CFC) launched the investigation last May to determine whether Wal-Mart was using its market power to pressure suppliers into providing prices substantially lower than those available to other retailers (after accounting for reasonable volume discounts). … Read More
Cheers greeted the Taos, New Mexico, Town Council last month when members voted 3-2 to reject a proposal to allow construction of retail stores as large as 200,000 square feet. The vote reaffirms an ordinance adopted in 1999 that prohibits stores over 80,000 square feet. The issue has been hotly debated in this community of 7,000 for more than three months. It began when a handful of residents organized under the banner La Gente ("the people") and petitioned the Town Council to lift the store size limit.… Read More
Small business owners are crying foul over an agreement reached between the Puerto Rican government and Wal-Mart. The deal allows Wal-Mart to proceed with its purchase of an island supermarket chain, which will give it control of 40 percent of Puerto Rico’s grocery sales. Last year Wal-Mart won approval from the Federal Trade Commission to purchase the Amigo supermarket chain. Puerto Rican officials said the deal violated local antitrust laws and sued to block the merger. … Read More
In a move that could derail big box development projects throughout England, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has rejected a bid by the furniture chain Ikea to build a 300,000-square-foot store (seven times the size of a football field) outside the city of Stockport. In a letter explaining his decision, Deputy Prime Minister Prescott said the proposed store violated several provisions of both national and local planning policy. … Read More
The town of Powell, Wyoming, is one of a growing number of places where residents are opening community-owned department stores. More than 800 shares of stock in the Powell Mercantile, priced at $500 each, were purchased by approximately 500 local investors. The 10,000-square-foot store, which sells mostly mid-range clothing and shoes, opened in July and has turned a profit ever since. … Read More
A dozen independent businesses in Charleston, West Virginia, have banded together to promote one another and the idea of supporting locally owned businesses. In November, the group began running print, television, and radio advertisements. The print ads read, "Supporting your locally owned stores keeps your dollars in our community. … Read More
Supermarket chains in the northeast are using their market power to reap record profits on milk at the expense of both dairy farmers and consumers, according to a new report. The findings are fueling legislative efforts in several New England states to rein in the power of grocery chains. One proposal in Maine would tax big box retailers to support dairy farms.… Read More
