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Market Consolidation and Pricing Developments in Grocery Retailing: A Case Study

In: THE ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION POLICY AND SECTORAL REGULATION

Author

Listed:
  • Ratula Chakraborty
  • Paul W. Dobson
  • Jonathan S. Seaton
  • Michael Waterson

Abstract

When large retailers merge, there is a concern that a sudden and marked increase in concentration will alter the intensity and nature of price competition to the detriment of consumers. This chapter considers just such a situation in regard to UK grocery retailing, which has witnessed steadily increasing concentration over recent years, advanced by a series of mergers. Specifically, we examine the nature of price competition amongst the major “one-stop-shop” retail chains before, during, and after the Safeway/Morrison merger in March 2004.We find the merger offered consumers an immediate windfall benefit — with average prices falling straight after the merger — and more intriguingly appears to have led to (or at least is associated with) a marked change in the character of price competition in the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Ratula Chakraborty & Paul W. Dobson & Jonathan S. Seaton & Michael Waterson, 2014. "Market Consolidation and Pricing Developments in Grocery Retailing: A Case Study," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Martin Peitz & Yossi Spiegel (ed.), THE ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION POLICY AND SECTORAL REGULATION, chapter 1, pages 3-29, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:wschap:9789814616362_0001
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sang-Hyun Kim & Hao Lan & Paul W Dobson, 2021. "Identifying price-leadership structures in oligopoly," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(1), pages 350-370.
    2. Chakraborty, Ratula & Dobson, Paul W. & Seaton, Jonathan S. & Waterson, Michael, 2015. "Pricing in inflationary times: The penny drops," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 71-86.
    3. Dennis Rickert & Jan Philip Schain & Joel Stiebale, 2021. "Local Market Structure and Consumer Prices: Evidence from a Retail Merger," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(3), pages 692-729, September.
    4. Ratula Chakraborty, 2018. "Do Retailers Manipulate Prices to Favour Private Label over Brands?," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2018-02, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    5. Hao Lan & Tim Lloyd & Wyn Morgan & Paul W. Dobson, 2022. "Are food price promotions predictable? The hazard function of supermarket discounts," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 64-85, February.
    6. Argentesi, Elena & Buccirossi, Paolo & Cervone, Roberto & Duso, Tomaso & Marrazzo, Alessia, 2016. "The effect of retail mergers on prices and variety: An ex-post evaluation," DICE Discussion Papers 225, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).

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