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Do Slotting Allowances Harm Retail Competition?

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  • Øystein Foros
  • Hans Jarle Kind

Abstract

Slotting allowances are fees paid by manufacturers to get access to retailers' shelf space. Both in the USA and Europe, the use of slotting allowances has attracted attention in the general press as well as among policy makers and economists. One school of thought claims that slotting allowances are efficiency enhancing, while another school of thought maintains that slotting allowances are used in an anti‐competitive manner. In this paper, we argue that this controversy is partially caused by inadequate assumptions of how the retail market is structured and organized. Using a formal model, we show that there are good reasons to expect anti‐competitive effects of slotting allowances. We further point out that competition authorities tend to use an unsatisfactory basis for comparison when analyzing welfare consequences of slotting allowances.

Suggested Citation

  • Øystein Foros & Hans Jarle Kind, 2008. "Do Slotting Allowances Harm Retail Competition?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(2), pages 367-384, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:110:y:2008:i:2:p:367-384
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9442.2008.00543.x
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pio Baake & Vanessa Schlippenbach, 2014. "The Impact of Upfront Payments on Assortment Decisions in Retailing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 44(1), pages 95-111, February.
    2. Øystein Foros & Hans Jarle Kind, 2017. "Upstream Partnerships among Competitors when Size Matters," CESifo Working Paper Series 6512, CESifo.
    3. Øystein Foros & Hans Jarle Kind & Jan Yngve Sand, 2009. "Slotting Allowances and Manufacturers' Retail Sales Effort," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 76(1), pages 266-282, July.
    4. Igor Muraviev, 2007. "Equilibrium Configurations of Distribution Channels in Bilaterally Oligopolistic Industries," Working Papers hal-00243078, HAL.
    5. Chris Doyle & Martijn Han, 2014. "Cartelization Through Buyer Groups," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 44(3), pages 255-275, May.
    6. Kenneth Fjell & Øystein Foros & Hans Jarle Kind, 2015. "On the Choice of Royalty Rule to Cover Fixed Costs in Input Joint Ventures," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 393-406, November.
    7. Liesbeth Colen & Zohra Bouamra-Mechemache & Victoria Daskalova & Kjersti Nes, 2020. "Retail alliances in the agricultural and food supply chain," JRC Research Reports JRC120271, Joint Research Centre.
    8. Harold Creusen & Arno Meijer & Gijsbert Zwart & Henry van der Wiel, 2008. "Static efficiency in Dutch supermarket chain," CPB Document 163, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    9. Aggey Semenov & Julian Wright, 2011. "Entry deterrrence via renegotiation-proof non-exclusive contracts," Working Papers 1105E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    10. Andre Jungmittag, 2018. "The Direct and Indirect Effects of Product Market Regulations in the Retail Trade Sector," JRC Research Reports JRC112222, Joint Research Centre.
    11. Doyle, Chris & Han, Martijn A., 2012. "Cartelization through buyer groups," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2012-059, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    12. Alexandre de Cornière & Greg Taylor, 2021. "Upstream Bundling and Leverage of Market Power [Commodity bundling and the burden of monopoly]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(640), pages 3122-3144.
    13. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2012-059 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Stéphane Caprice & Vanessa von Schlippenbach, 2013. "One‐Stop Shopping as a Cause of Slotting Fees: A Rent‐Shifting Mechanism," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 468-487, September.
    15. Aggey Semenov & Julian Wright, 2014. "Exclusion via Non‐Exclusive Contracts," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 325-347, February.
    16. Claire Chambolle & Clémence Christin, 2021. "New Product Introduction and Slotting Fees," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 410-442, June.
    17. Leslie M. Marx & Greg Shaffer, 2010. "Slotting Allowances and Scarce Shelf Space," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 575-603, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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