1. References

A slotting fee, slotting allowance,^[1] pay-to-stay, or fixed trade spending^[2] is a fee charged to produce companies or manufacturers by supermarket distributors (retailers) in order to have their product placed on their shelves.^[3] The fee varies greatly depending on the product, manufacturer, and market conditions. For a new product, the initial slotting fee may be approximately $25,000 per item in a regional cluster of stores, but may be as high as $250,000 in high-demand markets.^[4]

In addition to slotting fees, retailers may also charge promotional, advertising and stocking fees. According to an FTC study, the practice is "widespread" in the supermarket industry.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} Many grocers earn more profit from agreeing to carry a manufacturer's product than they do from actually selling the product to retail consumers. According to retailers, fees serve to efficiently allocate scarce retail shelf space, help balance the risk of new product failure between manufacturers and retailers, help manufacturers signal private information about potential success of new products, and serve to widen retail distribution for manufacturers by mitigating retail competition.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Vendors charge that slotting fees are a move by the grocery industry to profit at their suppliers' expense.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

Some companies argue that slotting fees are unethical as they create a barrier to entry for smaller businesses that do not have the cash flow to compete with large companies. The use of slotting fees can, in some instances, lead to abuse by retailers such as in the case where a bakery firm was asked for a six figure fee to carry its items for a specific period with no guarantee its products would be carried in future periods.^[5]

The same practice is common in major bookstore chains in the US as well, as far back as the mid-nineties.^[6]

In some countries, e.g. in Poland slotting fees are illegal.{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}}

References

• The Nightmare Lands
• The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door
• The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon
• The Nightmare of the Vultures
• The Nightmare Years
• The Night (Morphine album)
• The Night Moves
• The Night: Nights in White Satin
• The Night Nurse
• The Night Of
• The Night of January 16th (film)
• The Night of June 13
• The Night of Love (1927 film)
• The Night of Nights
• The Night of Queen Isabeau
• The Night of the Big Wind
• The Night of the Comet
• The Night of the Comet (The Vampire Diaries)
• The Night of the Crime
• The Night of the Demon
• The Night of the Devils
• The Night of the Doctor
• The Night of the Dub
• The Night of the Full Moon
• The Night of the Generals (film)