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The Effect of Mergers on Variety in Grocery Retailing

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  • Duso, Tomaso
  • Argentesi, Elena
  • Buccirossi, Paolo
  • Cervone, Roberto
  • Marrazzo, Alessia

Abstract

We study the effect of a merger between two Dutch supermarket chains to assess its effect on the depth as well as composition of assortment. We adopt a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits local variation in the merger's effects, controlling for selection on observables through a matching procedure when defining our control group. We show that the merger led the merging parties to reposition their assortment to avoid cannibalization in the areas where they directly competed before the merger. While the low-variety target's stores reduced the depth of their assortment when in direct competition with the acquirer, the latter increased their assortment. This suggests that variety is a strategic variable in retail chains' response to changes in local competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Duso, Tomaso & Argentesi, Elena & Buccirossi, Paolo & Cervone, Roberto & Marrazzo, Alessia, 2021. "The Effect of Mergers on Variety in Grocery Retailing," CEPR Discussion Papers 16230, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16230
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    2. Lydia Dimitrakopoulou & Christos Genakos & Themistoklis Kampouris & Stella Papadokonstantaki, 2023. "VAT Pass-Through and Competition: Evidence from the Greek Islands," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2039, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Dimitrakopoulou, Lydia & Genakos, Christos & Kampouris, Themistoklis & Papadokonstantaki, Stella, 2023. "VAT pass-through and competition: evidence from the Greek Islands," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121321, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Lydia Dimitrakopoulou & Christos Genakos & Themistoklis Kampouris & Stella Papadokonstantaki, 2023. "VAT pass-through and competition: Evidence from the Greek Islands," POID Working Papers 078, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Variety; Assortment; Mergers; Ex-post evaluation; Retail sector; Supermarkets; Grocery;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L66 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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