[blunte]

Not suggesting that this practice is ok or reasonable, but many other big tech companies have used similar advantages to steal from smaller innovators.

Apple, Microsoft, and Google have all copied novel technologies from their smaller business partners, effectively shutting out the creators.

Walmart and other big chains have used their sales information to know which products were worth making “house brand” copies of, then promoting those alongside the original ones.

Heck, even lying to Congress has been common and largely unpunished for years now.

American capitalism is a formidable power.

[vharuck]

>Walmart and other big chains have used their sales information to know which products were worth making “house brand” copies of, then promoting those alongside the original ones.

Aren't those white label products? Major manufacturers produce them, meaning they're similar in quality to regular brands, but at a lower price point. Which would mean the producer would get to target customers at two price points, which is nice.

[blunte]

It doesn’t take long for consumers to know which white label brands belong to the retailer.

But it doesn’t even matter what the brand is. If it looks like an equal replacement for a more expensive product, many consumers will gravitate to the cheaper option.

[jjeaff]

Sometimes it is white label, and sometimes, where the profit margin is there, they will have them made by a competitor or even fully in-house.