Roosevelt-Era Law Gets Revival as FTC Targets Consumer Behemoths

When R.F. Buche buys Cheerios to stock his grocery and convenience stores in rural South Dakota, he pays $6.30 for an 18 ounce box. Walmart Inc. pays so much less that it can sell the cereal to customers for just $4.78.

That’s just one example where suppliers offer lower prices to big retailers than to the wholesalers who serve small grocers like Buche, forcing his customers — many of whom are poor and lack cars to travel to the nearest Walmart — to pay more.

“The pricing that these big box stores and chains are getting is made on the ...