Commercial negotiations between manufacturers and retailers
necessarily involve a discussion of wholesale prices, but they may
also involve a discussion of potential retail prices, including
recommendations of retail prices by manufacturers (RRPs). Retail
prices not only determine how much money a retailer will make, but
also how much product the manufacturer will sell. Furthermore
large retailers may have little idea of how to price specialist
products, something on which manufacturers have often
undertaken significant amounts of research.
Assessing umbrella pricing incentives
When collusive agreements involve a subset of firms in an industry, they may create the incentive and ability for firms that are not participants in the cartel...