Cheater Sizes and Other Dirty Secrets of Big Grocery Stores

Grocery wholesaler Randy Arceneaux and the National Grocers Association's Chris Jones talk about what it's like to compete with Walmart, and the real reason for food deserts in rural America.

Welcome to the podcast Organized Money. You can listen to today’s episode on Apple, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why is it that Walmart can sell bananas for less than what an independent grocer pays for it wholesale? In this episode, David and Matt expose how major retailers like Walmart and Dollar Stores use their sheer size to strong-arm suppliers into giving them special deals—while smaller, independent grocers are stuck paying higher prices.

They talk to Randy Arceneaux, CEO of Affiliated Foods, and antitrust lawyer Chris Jones about how this system is not only unfair but likely illegal under the long-ignored Robinson-Patman Act, which bans price discrimination. From grocery wholesalers forced to “subsidize” Walmart, to toilet paper and pet food shortages that only seem to affect smaller stores, to how credit card fees hit independents much harder, this episode unpacks how monopolistic practices are reshaping the grocery business—and why the fight to fix it is heating up.

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Thank you so much for listening. If there’s a monopoly you’d like us to explore this year, or if you have anything else to tell us, please let us know by leaving a comment or by responding directly to this email.