We investigate how buyer power in the retail market affects suppliers' profitability. Buyer power exists when suppliers depend on a concentrated set of retailers. Further, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, possesses additional buyer power because it has a dominant position in many product...

We examine the profitability and valuation of retail firms identified by suppliers as major customers, using major customer relationships to proxy for unrecorded organizational-capital intangibles. Major customers have higher operating profitability and profitability persistence, with the...