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The retail auto parts market is dominated by four major competitors: O’Reilly, NAPA, AutoZone, and Advance Auto Parts. A combination of O’Reilly and NAPA would sharply change that structure, notes Diana Moss, vice president and director of competition policy at the Progressive Policy Institute.
“Antitrust enforcers will carefully examine this deal because it reduces the number of rivals, increases concentration, and changes competitive incentives,” Moss told Inc. “Enforcers will look at how the merger eliminates head-to-head competition between NAPA and O’Reilly.”
She said regulators would likely examine both national competition and local markets, much as they do in retail grocery mergers. The risk, Moss says, is that fewer major rivals could lead to higher prices, less choice, lower quality, less variety, and slower innovation.
That lands at a difficult moment for consumers. Auto parts have already become more expensive, Moss says, citing tariffs, supply chain disruptions, patent protection, and right-to-repair restrictions. “In sum, the merger spells even more pricing pressure for U.S. consumers, at the worst possible time,” Moss says.
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