A&P Grocery Stores decided to sell its own brand of canned milk (referred to as private label milk). A&P asked its longtime supplier, Borden, to submit an offer to produce the private label milk. Bowman Dairy also submitted a bid, which was lower than Borden’s. A&P’s Chicago buyer then contacted Borden and said, “I have a bid in my pocket. You people are so far out of line it is not even funny. You are not even in the ballpark.” The Borden representative asked for more details but was told only that a $50,000 improvement in Borden’s bid “would not be a drop in the bucket.” A&P was one of Borden’s largest customers in the Chicago area. Furthermore, Borden had just invested more than $5 million in a new dairy facility in Illinois. The loss of the A&P account would result in underutilization of the plant. Borden lowered its bid by more than $400,000. The Federal Trade Commission charged Borden with price discrimination, but Borden maintained it was simply meeting the competition 1- Did Borden violate the Robinson-Patman Act? 2- Does it matter that the milk was a private label milk, not its normal trade name Borden milk?
A&P Grocery Stores decided to sell its own brand of canned milk (referred to as private label milk). A&P asked its longtime supplier, Borden, to submit an offer to produce the private label milk. Bowman Dairy also submitted a bid, which was lower than Borden’s. A&P’s Chicago buyer then contacted Borden and said, “I have a bid in my pocket. You people are so far out of line it is not even funny. You are not even in the ballpark.” The Borden representative asked for more details but was told only that a $50,000 improvement in Borden’s bid “would not be a drop in the bucket.” A&P was one of Borden’s largest customers in the Chicago area. Furthermore, Borden had just invested more than $5 million in a new dairy facility in Illinois. The loss of the A&P account would result in underutilization of the plant. Borden lowered its bid by more than $400,000. The Federal Trade Commission charged Borden with
1- Did Borden violate the Robinson-Patman Act?
2- Does it matter that the milk was a private label milk, not its normal trade name Borden milk?
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