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Germany’s highest court has ruled that Wal-Mart’s below-cost pricing strategy undermines competition and violates the country’s antitrust laws. Two years ago, the federal Cartel Office accused Wal-Mart and two other large supermarket chains of selling goods below cost and ordered the companies to raise their prices. The items in question included about a dozen staple products like milk, butter, and vegetable oil.… Read More
Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to block Wal-Mart’s acquisition of the island’s largest grocery store chain, Supermercados Amigo Inc. The outcome of the case could affect the ability of states to review and challenge mergers. Wal-Mart already operates 19 outlets in Puerto Rico, including eight Sam’s Club stores and one supercenter. … Read More
"Now you know who really has your interests at heart," reads a recent advertisement in the Cape Cod Times that explains that a locally owned business returns a much larger share of its revenue to the local economy compared to an absentee-owned chain. The ad is part of a series of ads published in Cape Cod newspapers last fall by a new grassroots organization called the Smart Planning and Growth Coalition (SPGC).… Read More
Hundreds of citizens packed a Town Council meeting in Taos, New Mexico, in late January to voice their opposition to a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. With the meeting room filled to capacity, many were forced to sit out the proceedings in other rooms, hallways, and even outside the building. More than 70 people testified against the development over a three-and-a-half hour period. Opponents wore green ribbons to identify themselves and presented a petition with 6,800 signatures.… Read More
Two churches and a long-time resident of the historic Sandfly community near Savannah, Georgia, have sued city and county officials to block a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. The lawsuit claims the officials violated planning and zoning laws in approving the development. Settled by slaves in the 1700s, Sandfly is one of the nation’s oldest African-American communities. Until recently, most homes is this tight-knit village were built by residents themselves with everyone in the community pitching in to help. … Read More
Another prescription price survey finds independent pharmacies have lower prices.… Read More
Residents of the midcoast region of Maine are petitioning the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Coast Guard to deny permits to a planned Home Depot store in the town of Rockland. The 100,000-square-foot store is slated for a 24-acre site along the coast near Route 1. The project was approved by the Rockland Planning Commission in October. It still needs permits from the DEP, which is accepting public comment through February and is expected to issue a decision in March. … Read More
Officials of Oaxaca, Mexico, have turned down an application by McDonald’s to open an outlet in a 500-year-old plaza at the center of town. "There are values that we have to preserve, such as our traditions and culture," city leader Gabino Cue Monteagudo said. A local ordinance allows local officials to reject development projects that endanger the city’s cultural heritage.… 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
