Brown Shoe Co. v. United States
United States Supreme Court
370 U.S. 294 (1962)
Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (Brown) (defendant), the nation's third-largest shoe seller, sought to merge with G.R. Kinney Company, Inc. (Kinney), the eighth-largest seller with over 350 retail stores and its own manufacturing operations. The federal government (plaintiff) sued to block the merger under § 7 of the Clayton Act, arguing it would harm competition nationally; Brown argued its post-merger market share was too small to matter in a robust, competitive shoe market. The district court agreed with the government and ordered the merger unwound, and Brown appealed.
Whether, in a fragmented market, the government may block a merger achieving a very small percentage of market control if the merger reflects a potential trend toward concentration in the industry.