The thing with the three-tier system is that it only partially disaggregates the system. Market consolidation has a certain gravity to it: once one market is co

The thing with the three-tier system is that it only partially disaggregates the system. Market consolidation has a certain gravity to it: once one market is consolidated, they start stripping the margins off their suppliers and increasing prices for their customers. The only defense against this is to consolidate yourself to maximize your negotiating leverage. If wholesalers and retailers were horizontally disintegrated then it'd be a better system. This is also why businesses are furiously and unanimously anti-union. Labor is their biggest cost and they get ahead if they can keep labor fragmented while they consolidate.