The consolidation wave in U.S. food retailing: A European perspective

Neil Wrigley

Agribusiness, 2001, vol. 17, issue 4, 489-513

Abstract: This article assesses, from the perspective of a European academic, the intense wave of acquisition and merger driven consolidation that swept through the U.S. food retail industry during the late 1990s. It reviews the characteristics and causes of that consolidation wave, placing emphasis on the regulatory history of the industry, the consequences of its financial reengineering during the 1980s, and the link between Wal-Mart's entry into the industry and the consolidation wave. The article then assesses the extent to which a shift in regulatory policy and practice by the Federal Trade Commission at the very end of the decade may have altered the pattern and scale of consolidation in the industry. Finally, it considers the future landscape of U.S. food retail consolidation, debating the consequences for the consolidation process of the period of FTC regulatory tightening during 1999|2000 and the likely implications of a Bush administration appointee heading the FTC [EconLit Classifications: L810, L190, G340, L400]. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Date: 2001
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:17:y:2001:i:4:p:489-513

DOI: 10.1002/agr.1031

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