Price Rigidity and Market Power in German Retailing

摘要

In view of an increasing market share of discounters in German retailing, particularly the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl, the intensification of inter-retail competition has raised public and legal concern. Within the process of consolidation and increasing concentration an intensification of retail price-competition is assumed to have major impacts on consumers as well as on preliminary stages of food marketing. The question arises whether retail market power exists and the level of price transmission across the preliminary market stages will be affected.