Dynamic Explanations of Industry Structure and Performance

Industrial Organization,

TWO-STAGE OLIGOPOLY PRICING WITH DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT: THE BOSTON FLUID MILK MARKET

By specifying a structural model, the present study estimates different indicators of competitiveness of the fluid milk market, namely average and marginal cost, average profits and price-cost margins, and utility levels for the full, and pre and post Compact time period.Demand and Price Analysis,

Private labels for premium products: The example of organic food

This paper inquires into the tendency of German food retailers to market organic products as private-label products (PLs). After a review of the literature, we present preliminary results of a survey of retailers and processors. 62.5 % of the interviewed processors produce organic PL. Retailers sell organic PLs, because they care about food safety, retail as a brand and health, hoping to reach new customers. Requests for entry fees, investment grants and equipment allowances are less important for processors of organic PLs than for those not producing PLs. However, PL producers have to meet other conditions imposed by retailers. --organic products,premium products,private label,retailing

Grocery retailing in Germany : situation, development and pricing strategies

Over the last four decades, the German food-retailing sector has been subject to continuous structural change. Most important has been the combination of increasing concentration with rising store size and the growing role of discounters implementing an aggressive EDLP pricing strategy. Thus, consumers have benefited from intensive price competition, despite the higher market share of leading food retailers. The analysis of market conduct, in terms of price formation and pricing strategies, reveals a typical situation of imperfect competition. The law of one price certainly does not hold for individual foods. Price levels and pricing strategies diverge substantially across firms and store types. There are successful retailers with an EDLP strategy, as well as others with a HiLo strategy. A major lesson to be learned from the German experience is that increasing concentration in food retailing does not necessarily imply that more market power is exerted at the expense of consumers. Competitive markets are compatible with a high level of concentration as long as a strong competitive fringe, for example discounters, challenges the large chains in food retailing

Environmental Implications of the Foodservice and Food Retail Industries

The growing size and importance of service sector industries in the U.S. economy raises questions about the suitability of the current environmental management system to deal with perhaps a changing set of environmental concerns. This paper analyzes the environmental impacts associated with the activities undertaken and influenced by two service sector industries—foodservice (e.g., restaurants) and food retail (e.g., grocery stores). This paper is not a definitive analysis of the magnitude of the environmental effects of these industries, but is intended to be a comprehensive survey of the types of environmental implications—positive and negative—of these two service sectors. The foodservice and food retail industries are components of a larger industrial system, the food marketing system, that extends from the production of food to the marketing of food products to consumers. The U.S. foodservice industry comprises an estimated 831,000 individual establishments, employs an estimated 11 million people (about 8.6% of the U.S. workforce), and is expected to have total sales of $376 billion in 2000. The U.S. food retail industry encompasses approximately 126,000 grocery stores, employs approximately 3.5 million people (about 2.7$449 billion in 1998. For this analysis, we use a simple conceptual framework that segregates the environmental impacts of these industries into three categories: direct, upstream, and downstream. We conclude that, while the direct environmental impacts (e.g., energy use, solid waste generation; air and water emissions; food safety concerns; refrigerants) of these industries are important to recognize and address, opportunities also exist for these industries to address their upstream and downstream environmental impacts.

Carting Away the Oceans 9

The Carting Away the Oceans report, released annually since 2008, identifies which major grocery chains are leaders in sustainable seafood and which are falling behind.The findings are telling.In the latest update, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Hy-Vee, and Safeway topped the list for their sustainable seafood practices. Roundy's, Publix, A&P, and Save Mart were the worst ranked companies. Publix and Kroger, both top ten supermarkets based on their annual sales, sell more Red List species than any other U.S. grocery chain.Applauding industry leaders and exposing those lagging behind is key to getting supermarkets to take responsibility and play their part in protecting our oceans and the people who depend on the

A Day Late and A Dollar Short: Discount Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals

This report, released by the Campaign for Healthier Solutions -- a group of over 100 health, community, and environmental justice organizations around the country -- includes testing results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and other household items, that found over 81% (133 of 164) contained at least one hazardous chemical above levels of concern

The impact of labels on the competitiveness of the European food label supply chain

The report studies the impact of private labels on the competitiveness of the European food processing industry and investigates whether a system of producer indication may improve the functioning of the food supply chain. The impact is studied using economic theory and empirical and legal analysis. The study is completed with an impact assessment