It's not unusual for retailers and consumer brand suppliers to have disagreements. What's unusual is when news of these temporary rifts becomes public knowledge. Back in 2009, for example, there were reports that Costco took the extreme step of delisting Coca-Cola beverages over a pricing dispute.
Now comes a Wall Street Journal report that Target is taking issue with Procter & Gamble's agreement to allow Amazon.com to set up shop inside its warehouses to speed online orders to customers. P&G made a similar offer to Target and other retailers, but some turned it down because e-commerce remains a relatively small part of their overall business.
According to the Journal, Target has made other companies category captains in place of P&G and reduced display support for the consumer product giant's brands.
Target and Amazon have a history. Prior to the 2011 holiday season, Amazon ran website operations for Target.com. The transition did not go as smoothly as planned. In 2012, Target made the decision to no longer sell Amazon's Kindle e-readers and tablets in its stores.