The Garden State’s War on the Good Deal
New Jersey lawmakers have found a way to spare small grocers the sting of missing out on a discount: make suppliers think twice about offering one to anybody. If a cereal maker gives Walmart a better deal than a corner market in Newark, a bill before the state’s General Assembly would require the supplier to justify the difference. The easiest way to comply, of course, is to keep prices high for everyone.
Assemblyman Chigozie Onyema (D-Newark) introduced Assembly Bill 5532, the Grocery Retailer Opportunity to Compete Act, on Sept. 17. It would bar grocery suppliers with at least $6 billion in annual New Jersey revenue from offering different “terms of sale” to retailers or wholesalers buying the same product at roughly the same time. Those terms cover prices, discounts, rebates, promotions, packaging, delivery, and payment.
If enacted, the bill would likely mean fewer discounts, higher prices for shoppers, and less bargaining power for the very independent grocers it aims to help.