I was a senior person at a company best remaining nameless that trained all new executives to never use the words “monopoly,” “fix prices,” “dictate prices,” despite the fact we had a required pricing schedule for retailers, bought back all excess inventory at cost to prevent a grey market, and dropped retailers that ran promotions. Their products were never on sale and accounted for 80% of retailers revenues, and they controlled 75% of their market segment. Whenever a new upstart brand came along they simply acquired them. Everyone sold their brands because it was known unless you were owned by this company you had no long term future in the market.

These sorts of market controlling companies are weird to work for. On the one hand they have a certain excellence that keeps their market lock year over year. On the other there’s a strangulating incestuous monoculture that self perpetuates a view of brilliance. You see this internally at other companies with these locks - google for one, googlers, especially hey day googlers, walk out with an ego the size of their market share. I’ve scrupulously avoided working there despite many chances over the years because of the smugness - not that I couldn’t work with that environment, I’m afraid I would adopt it as well.