A recent decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court will overturn a 72-year-old restriction on how many licenses a liquor retailer in the state can hold. The case was brought by Total Wine & More, a Maryland-based liquor retailer with over 150 “big box” stores in 20 states. Now, small retailers fear they will be forced out of business as larger companies become the dominant liquor retailers in the state.
Read MoreWhole Foods’ recent decision to centralize buying for its U.S. stores will likely make it much harder for smaller producers of organic and natural foods to get to market. The move could thus further solidify the control of the corporate food giants currently dominating the organic and natural foods sector.
Read MoreAmazon has applied for licenses to open liquor warehouses in Columbus and Cincinnati that would allow the company to sell beer, wine, and liquor for delivery as well as carryout. This move is the latest in the company’s increasingly aggressive attempts to position itself as a dominant player in brick-and-mortar food as well as online beverage retail.
Read MoreFarmers, workers, and consumers alike may soon feel the effects of further consolidation in the already concentrated industry of grocery retail. On July 22, the Federal Trade Commission approved the latest in a long series of supermarket mergers, further concentrating control over U.S. food markets in the hands of a few giant corporations.
Read MoreRetailers are positioning themselves to charge customers based on their willingness to pay—so that my Burberry-dressed neighbor pays more than my thrifty neighbor for the same product. How are retailers tracking our shopping habits, and what does it mean for you?
Read MoreAt the National Retail Federation annual conference, retailers discuss how to use big data to personalize customer prices. Tactics include in-store cameras that track which products you’re examining, so Kroger can send you a coupon for chips as you’re still roaming the salsa aisle. Or if you buy cat food towards the end of the month, you’ll be e-mailed a special offer on the 25th, rather than showered with ads all the time. But do the savings outweigh the creepiness?
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