Beer, wine, and spirits distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is fighting back at the lawsuit the Federal Trade Commission hit it with earlier in December.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Southern Glazer’s, the largest liquor distributor in the U.S., on Dec. 12, accusing the company of engaging in pricing practices that discriminate against smaller retailers. The FTC filed the lawsuit in California. It alleges that Southern Glazer’s offered exclusive discounts to large customers, such as Costco, Kroger, and Total Wine & More, while denying the same discounts to independent businesses.

Southern Glazer’s FTC lawsuit and pushback

This case marks the first FTC lawsuit in over 20 years under the Robinson-Patman Act. That law is designed to prevent large companies from gaining unfair advantages over smaller competitors. Outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan has emphasized the importance of antitrust enforcement to protect small businesses and workers.

“When local businesses get squeezed because of unfair pricing practices that favor large chains, Americans see fewer choices and pay higher prices — and communities suffer,” Khan said.

Southern Glazer’s denies the allegations, arguing that its pricing practices comply with legal requirements and benefit consumers.

“The FTC’s lawsuit takes issue with the use of volume discounts that nearly every distributor of consumer products in the country uses to lower costs,” the company said in a statement.

Southern Glazer’s claims it provides discounts based on the cost of serving customers at different volumes. It says it makes these discounts available to all eligible retailers.

The lawsuit seeks to block the pricing practices in question, which the FTC alleges harm smaller businesses and limit competition in the alcohol market. Southern Glazer’s has pledged to defend itself vigorously against the FTC lawsuit’s claims.

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