Southern-Glazers Has A Really Bad Week

The FTC and a federal judge appear not to be buying Southern's book of tricks

If Politico is right in its reporting, Lina Kahn and her Federal Trade Commission is fixing to prosecute Southern-Glazers, the largest wine and spirits wholesaler in America and the most politically powerful entity in the wine and spirits industry in the United States.

The crime is a violation of a 1936 law that prohibits favorable sales to one set of retailers to the detriment of others: In other words, Southern-Glazers is giving some large retail chains more favorable pricing than independent wine shops. Yes, that’s an illegal thing. However, the Robinson-Pittman Act hasn’t been used in this way since 1988.

Anyone with a passing understanding of how the wine and spirits industry works will let loose with a resounding, “duh!”. Of course Southern-Glazers has been engaging in such practices as have other wholesalers where it’s allowed by state law.

No one is surprised that the FTC would be going down this road. But what would surprise folks who read the Politico article on the subject is this paragraph: