FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1997                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

      JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ALLOWS GEORGIA-BASED RETAIL PRICE
 AUDITING CO. TO BUY AND PUBLISH LISTS OF PRODUCT SHELF PRICES


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Georgia-based retail price auditing
firm will be allowed to go forward with its plan to buy and
publish current public shelf prices of products found in grocery
stores and other retailers under a proposal approved today by the
Department of Justice.  

     The Department said that since the shelf prices are public
in nature and the company is taking measures to ensure that its
service won't be used to fix prices, the proposed database is not
likely to be anticompetitive.

     DataCheck Inc., which has provided price auditing services
for a grocery chain retailer, proposes to expand its services by
purchasing current shelf price information from retailers such as
grocery chains, mass merchandisers and discounters.  The company
will then enter the data in its own in-house computer system, and
publish the data in electronic and hard copy reports on a
subscription basis to retailers and other interested subscribers.

     Retailers advertise the current prices of many of their
items, and such firms often employ price auditors to ascertain
the shelf prices offered by their rivals to the public.  The
information service to be offered by DataCheck would enable its
subscribers to ascertain more efficiently the current shelf
prices charged by their rivals. 
 
     Joel I. Klein, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge
of the Antitrust Division, said, "In view of the measures that
DataCheck will adopt to prevent its information system from being
used in any manner that would facilitate price fixing, and the
public and generally non-negotiable nature of the current shelf
prices that will be disseminated, the proposed conduct is not
likely to restrict price competition."  

     Klein also noted that, "to the extent that the price
information exchanged results in price reductions by retailers or
enables consumers to better engage in comparative shopping,
DataCheck's proposed conduct could have a procompetitive effect."

     The Department's position was stated in a business review
letter from Klein to counsel for DataCheck.

     The Department said that the proposal would not allow any
direct communications between rivals nor inhibit them in any way
from unilaterally changing their prices or engaging in any form
of discounting or indirect price reductions that they choose.

     DataCheck, which does not and will not have any financial
ties to any of its retailer subscribers, will implement a number
of monitoring and other prophylactic measures to make sure that
no information as to future retail prices will be purchased from
or sold to its information suppliers or customers.

     Under the Department's Business Review Procedure, an
organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust
Division and receive a statement as to whether the Division will
challenge the action under the antitrust laws.

     A file containing the business review request and the
Department's response may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit
of the Antitrust Division, Suite 215, Liberty Place, 325 7th
Street, N.W., Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.  20004. 
After a 30-day period, the documents supporting the business
review will be added to the file.
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