PepsiCo Sued by FTC Over Pricing Bias in Sales to Retailers
- Walmart allegedly got promotions; isn’t accused of wrongdoing
- PepsiCo disputes FTC allegations, will fight back in court
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The US Federal Trade Commission sued PepsiCo Inc. Friday under a rarely invoked 1930s law called the Robinson-Patman Act that bars price discrimination against retailers.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan, the FTC said Pepsi violated the law by charging small retailers higher prices than they do for beverages sold to a large multinational chain store. The agency didn’t name the retailer in the complaint, but the chain is Walmart Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.