California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday released a largely unredacted court filing packed with internal emails that allegeAmazon strong-armed brands like Levi Strauss and Hanes into pressuring Walmart, Target and other rivals to raise prices- all to protect Amazon’s $2.66 trillion empire.
The19-page memorandum, filed in support of a preliminary injunction in San Francisco Superior Court, paints a picture ofcoordinated price elevation that Bonta calls “naked” and “per se illegal” under California’s Cartwright Act.The evidence builds on documents theGuardianfirst reported on last week, but goes significantly further by naming major brands and quoting verbatim email chains that had remained heavily redacted until Monday.
"You don’t see price fixing so explicitly and egregiously in writing like this," Bonta told reporters, framing the documents as proof that Amazon used its market dominance to eliminate real competition across the internet.
The case,The People of the State of California v. Amazon.com Inc.(CGC-22-601826), dates back to September 2022. California accuses Amazon of running what it calls a"Retail Price Fixing Scheme"that relies on threats of lost Buy Box placement, suppressed search visibility and outright order suspensions - tools the state says gave the company "overwhelming bargaining leverage" over vendors.
The emails tell the story in real time.
In one exchange detailed in the filing,Amazon flagged "styles of concern" to Levi’s- specifically Easy Khaki Classic pants listed cheaper at Walmart. The next day, Levi’s replied that it had "partnered with" Walmart to raise the price back to the desired $29.99 ladder.Amazon then matched the higher price.
Similar patterns appear with Hanes (pressuring Target and Walmart), Allergan eye drops (Walmart raised prices after Amazon suppressed the listing), pet treats coordinated with Chewy, and furniture sold through Home Depot. Vendors repeatedly acted as intermediaries, contacting rival retailers at Amazon’s direction to "fix" or "resolve" lower prices elsewhere.
The filing also describes Amazon’s internal enforcement mechanisms:"CRaP" (Can’t Realize a Profit) flags, Guaranteed Minimum Margin demands, and instructions to discuss pricing by phone to avoid a paper trail.
According to the filing,Amazon's conduct harms consumers by creating an invisible price floor across major online retailers."The company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires - beyond what is fair," Bonta said in a statement.
Amazon just got caught running a secret price manipulation operation with Levi's, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more.Every time you "comparison shopped" online, you were looking at prices that were already rigged.Here's what happened:Amazon would monitor prices on Walmart,…pic.twitter.com/sCmIGY1cL4
Source: ZeroHedge News
