I am a retired grocer.

Retirement wasn’t my choice; I was pushed out by a large chain that made it impossible for my business to survive.

Reflecting on my experiences, I took note of the recent announcement by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who proposed actions against price gouging in the grocery sector.

I disagree with that proposal.

I believe it’s unnecessary. I started my career in the grocery business in 1975, during President Nixon’s price control era, which was a nightmare for smaller grocers.

The end of independent grocers like me began with the rise of big-box dollar stores

After running my grocery store, I realized that high prices are symptoms—not the root cause. Addressing the actual cause is the way to tackle the problem.

I reside in a small Kansas town called Haven, with a population of 1,200. I purchased a neighborhood grocery store in 2012, intending to pass it down to my son when I retired.

Initially, my grocery store thrived for three years. Then, a dollar store came into town.

Before they opened, the dollar store sought advantageous treatment, convincing local officials that they needed significant concessions to set up shop. Consequently, the city granted them benefits like reduced electricity and sewer fees.

This might seem trivial, but those discounts could have kept my business alive.

Once their store opened, my sales plummeted as if a switch had been flipped.

Why did that happen?

The dollar stores, like the big chains, leverage their influence to manipulate their supply chain. They secure special prices and packaging, which allows them to undercut smaller stores.

How can I compete when they can sell a can of soup for $1 while I have to pay $1.20?

The can comes from the same factory and is bought in equal quantities through my wholesaler, but the big chains secure much lower costs.

These large companies know their tactics well, and they are aware they can act with impunity.

I cherish my community; if it were possible for me to sell that can of soup at $1, I would. However, with soaring costs for utilities, labor, and credit card fees, small businesses are under tremendous financial strain. Independent stores (like mine once was) run on razor-thin profit margins; if we have to pay higher costs, we must raise prices just to survive.

No new regulations needed—let’s enforce what’s in place

The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up to investigate grocery prices and their causes, which could take months or even years to conclude.

The answer is clear to me right now: large chains aren’t adhering to the same standards as smaller businesses.

The Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) is intended to prevent big companies from exploiting their purchasing power to put smaller businesses like mine at a disadvantage. Rather than giving special advantages, it aims to promote fair competition, ensuring that consumers can find the best prices.

However, since the 1980s, the pursuit of RPA violations has dwindled, causing irreparable harm to small enterprises along the way. We don’t require fresh legislation; we need to implement the laws we already have.

My time in the grocery sector concluded in 2015. One day, my son and I faced the numbers and realized we couldn’t keep the business running under the current conditions.

If you drive along South Kansas Street in Haven today, you’ll spot the hollow structure that was once my store, marked with a “For Sale” sign in the window. Look inside, and you can see the

There are empty shelves, and a light dust covers the cash registers.

Once, that store represented my dreams of an American life and a comfortable retirement, but now it has turned into a story of caution.

Independent grocery store owners aren’t the ones taking advantage of their customers. Instead, they are the ones feeling the squeeze, struggling to keep their businesses alive while trying to meet the needs of their clientele, all in a system that seems unfairly stacked against them.

Douglas Nech is a former grocery store owner from Haven, Kansas.