Manufacturers and retailers seem to be able to set minimum prices (MAP / MSRP)
An article in today's Wall St. Journal sheds light on home goods manufacturers' ability to fight discounting.
Excerpt: Blocking discounting used to be clearly an anticompetitive practice, but a Supreme Court ruling last year changed things. The court said it wasn't illegal for manufacturers and retailers to agree to minimum prices, but that such agreements must be examined case by case for possible antitrust violations. The case involved a handbag maker, Leegin Creative Leather Enterprises Inc.
Manufacturers have grown more interested in establishing minimum advertised prices since the ruling, which provided "a new safety net for MAP adopters," says Quentin Johnson, a Minneapolis attorney who advises companies on pricing-policy matters.