How We Help
The National Sporting Goods Association advocates on behalf of retailers and team dealers on issues affecting small businesses and the sporting goods industry.
Current Issues
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) secured changes to a partnership agreement between T-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear SRL and major wholesale T-shirt distributor S&S Holdings LLC that will protect small businesses and consumers from unfair and discriminatory pricing practices. Read More.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) secured a settlement agreement with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits LLC, the nation’s largest distributor of wine and spirits, that will redress allegedly illegal price discrimination practices and make it easier for small businesses to compete against large chain retailers. Read More.
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) and some of its members are among the nearly 1,000 businesses and trade associations that have called on a federal judge to reject the proposed settlement of a merchants’ lawsuit over Visa and Mastercard credit card swipe fees that drive up consumer prices, saying the deal fails to provide adequate relief, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC). Read More.
The Merchants Payments Coalition sponsored a letter to the House Financial Services Committee reminding policymakers that the merchant community needs greater competition and fairness in the payments marketplace. NSGA was a signatory to the letter and is a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition. Read the full Merchants Payments Coalition letter.
NSGA sent a letter supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s and 17 states’ antitrust charges against Amazon concerning marketplace dominance and self-preferencing. Read NSGA’s statement here.
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to withdraw a pending rule that would block state-level bans on credit card swipe fees, such as Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. Retailers argue the federal rule endorses anticompetitive price-fixing by major card networks and could lead to higher costs for both merchants and consumers across a broad range of bank fees. Read More.
NSGA tracks a wide variety of issues impacting small business owners in the sporting goods industry. This list will be updated as new issues arise.