FTC lawsuit says liquor distributor Southern favored Costco, Kroger. [Video]

The Federal Trade Commission in a new lawsuit accuses the largest U.S. distributor of wine and spirits of illegal price discrimination that gave large chains — among them Costco, Kroger and Total Wine & More — much better prices than those offered to small “mom and pop” businesses such as independent liquor stores.

The distributor, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, is the tenth largest privately held company in the United States, generating about $26 billion in revenues from sales to retail customers in 2023, the FTC said in announcing the suit Thursday.

“At present, Southern sells one out of every three bottles of wine and spirits purchased in the United States,” the suit filed in Los Angeles federal court notes.

The complaint says that since at least 2018, Southern Glazer’s deprived smaller businesses of access to discounts and rebates, harming their ability to compete with large national and regional chain stores.

The suit alleges the …