Antitrust Analysis of Exclusionary Arrangements Involving Slotting Allowances and Fees : Issues and Insights

The author examines issues and questions in the antitrust analysis of slotting allowances and fees. Focus is given to those circumstances where suppliers employ their payment in ways that disadvantage rivals and have the effect of limiting competition and ultimately harming consumers. Under such circumstances, antitrust concerns center on the potential that a dominant supplier may condition its payment of certain types of slotting fees to retailers on requirements that disadvantage the supplier's rivals, leading to anticompetitive exclusion. Answering the call for more specific understanding of such arrangements, the author attempts to extend their extant analysis in antitrust through application of insights and understanding from marketing and related disciplines