"Beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are under preliminary investigation at the Federal Trade Commission over potential price discrimination in the soft drink market as the agency looks to revive a decades-old, but largely dormant law banning the practice," according to Politico. At issue is a 1936 law "that prohibits suppliers from offering better prices to large retailers at the expense of their smaller competitors." The companies’ pricing strategies are being scrutinized under an obscure law known as the Robinson-Patman Act, the people said. The law prohibits suppliers from offering better prices to large retailers at the …

Heyward Donigan, Rite Aid CEO, president, and board member since August 2019, has stepped down. The pharmacy retailer appointed a board member, Elizabeth (“Busy”) Burr, as interim CEO, effective immediately. "Donigan's departure comes as Rite Aid has struggled to compete with pharmacy rivals CVS Health and Walgreens, both of which have made extensive inroads into the broader field of health care," according to Chain Store Age, which also cited Rite Aid's third-quarter net loss of $67.1 billion.  

No big surprise, really, but a Kroger study noted that "some 24% of shoppers reported a decrease in optimism surrounding their personal finances, and 56% said saving money is their top financial resolution for 2023," according to Supermarket News.

The law finally goes into effect this year after first being passed in 2019. "Under this new legislation, leading department stores, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, have either prohibited fur sales or shut down operations in their fur salons, according to WWD," says Hypebeast.

"The structure of the Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. bankruptcy likely to hit in the coming weeks will revolve mainly around the fate of its prized Buybuy Baby brand, which comprises much of the company’s value," per Bloomberg. "Bed Bath & Beyond’s options in Chapter 11 include pursuing a sale of either the baby clothing, accessories and furniture brand or the whole company, as well as seeking financing from new or existing investors to help it turn the business around — a tall order given the company’s persistent decline."

"Mercedes-Benz says it will build its own worldwide electric vehicle charging network starting in North America in a bid to compete with EV sales leader Tesla," per US News & World Report. The company will spend $1.05 billion on the network, which, when completed in six or seven years, "will have 400 charging stations with more than 2,500 high-power plugs."

Bloomingdale’s is taking its smaller-store format, Bloomie's, to the Pacific Northwest, with a location set to open in Seattle later this year, per Chain Store Age. Two Bloomie's opened previously, one last year and one in 2021, in Skokie, Illinois and Fairfax, Virginia respectively. “Bloomie’s is designed to be a more convenient and casual concept that fits into our customer’s everyday lifestyle,” stated Tony Spring, CEO.

A TikTok beauty influencer recently posted about the benefits of Black-owned Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint hair oil. Because the influencer is a white woman, black women began commenting with notes like “leave the Mielle hair oil alone.”  Why? "Black women have legitimate reasons in this case for gatekeeping, pointing to the fact that there is precedent of brands like Shea Moisture changing their formulation and raising their prices to accommodate white women," according to The Cut.

"Mifepristone, the first of two drugs in medication abortions, previously had to be dispensed only by clinics, doctors or a few mail-order pharmacies," per The New York Times. "Now, if local drugstores or chains like CVS agree to certain rules, they can provide it." The move "could significantly expand access to abortion through medication," though, after last year's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, "the pills have increasingly become the focus of political and legal battles, which may influence a pharmacy’s decision about whether or not to dispense the medication."

"The company sold a total of 1.3 million cars in 2022, a 40 percent increase from the year before," still short of the goal of 50 percent growth the company had set, according to The New York Times. And the company's challenges now include "more intense competition from traditional carmakers like Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen...softening consumer demand," and the fact that "car buyers, especially the left-leaning, environmentally aware consumers who tend to buy electric cars, also appear to be turning away from Tesla" because of Elon Musk's "erratic behavior."