Amazon Accused of Using Levi's and Hanes to Pressure Rivals to Raise Prices in California Court Filing

Amazon Pressured Brands to Raise Prices, California's Attorney General Claims

Newly unsealed court documents reveal a systematic campaign by Amazon to pressure major brands into pushing rival retailers into raising their prices, a strategy California's attorney general says is price fixing caught in writing, in plain sight. According to a New York Times report, Amazon, the world's dominant online retailer, engaged in this alleged price-fixing scheme by contacting brands, including Levi's and Hanes, and flagging discrepancies in prices offered by competing retailers.

California's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon

California first sued Amazon in San Francisco Superior Court in 2022, alleging the company harmed competition and drove up the prices consumers pay online. At the heart of the case is a claim that Amazon punished sellers on its marketplace whenever those sellers offered lower prices on rival platforms, including the websites of Walmart and Target.

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The state has released a less-redacted version of a 16-page filing that fleshes out precisely how Amazon allegedly executed this strategy: not directly, but through the brands themselves. According to the filing, when Amazon spotted a competitor offering a lower price, or found itself losing money on a product, it would contact the relevant brand and flag the discrepancy. The brands, in turn, would approach rival retailers and ask them to bring their prices back up. In several documented instances, those retailers complied.

Amazon's Response

Amazon pushed back firmly, describing the filing as a "transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case." The company's spokesman, Mark Blafkin, said Amazon looked forward to responding in court. Amazon is consistently identified as America's lowest-priced online retailer, and the company is proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in its store.

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Amazon's Regulatory Troubles

The California lawsuit is far from the only legal front on which Amazon finds itself under pressure. The Federal Trade Commission and 17 US states filed suit against Amazon in 2023, accusing the company of illegally maintaining a monopoly in online retail by squeezing merchants on its platform and prioritizing its own products. In a separate matter, the FTC reached a settlement with Amazon over allegations that the company made it deliberately difficult for consumers to cancel their Prime subscription. Under the terms of that agreement, Amazon agreed to pay up to $2.5 billion, including $1 billion in penalties and further payouts to consumers.

Why This Case Matters

The allegations carry particular weight given Amazon's dominance in e-commerce. The company is by far the largest online retailer in the US, dwarfing its nearest competitor, Walmart. While the majority of retail transactions still take place in physical stores, online commerce is growing at a substantially faster rate. California argues that Amazon's sheer scale is what made its alleged strategy effective. Brands had little choice but to comply when Amazon flagged pricing concerns, because losing visibility, or being delisted entirely, on a platform of Amazon's size posed an existential commercial risk.

The Trial Ahead

The California antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is scheduled to go to trial in 2027 in San Francisco Superior Court. The unsealed documents suggest the state believes it now has the receipts to prove its claims.