Abstract
The 1980s have been a period of fundamental change for the German food distribution sector. This change was mainly the result of expansion and reorganization of the top food distributors, who increased their territory at the expense of small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to their selling power the top food distributors have achieved tremendous buying power and thus have become the centre of gravity in the food chain. The vertical-backward pressure on food manufacturers by food distributors is demonstrated by comparing industry-wide dimensions (food distribution) to product-group-wide dimensions (food manufacturing), in terms of both absolute magnitudes (sales volume) and relative magnitudes (concentration levels).

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