A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
One of the nation's largest bowling alley chains is facing a class action lawsuit. A group of bowlers from across the country sued Lucky Strike Entertainment, formerly known as the Bowlero Corporation, in a federal court in Seattle. Katya Schwenk is a reporter for The Lever and is following the case. So, Katya, what argument is this lawsuit making?
KATYA SCHWENK: Yeah. So this lawsuit was filed by a collection of avid bowlers - for the most part just regular people who love bowling - who say that Lucky Strike, over the past decade, has launched a - anticompetitive scheme to purchase bowling alleys across the country and - you know, in order to raise prices on consumers, and in doing so has violated antitrust laws and consumer protection laws.
MARTÍNEZ: So according to the suit, how did Lucky Strike maybe change the experience for bowlers nationwide?
SCHWENK: Right. So, you know, I think it's easy to imagine, like, you know, your old-school local bowling alley, you know, which - you know, humble, cheap food, cheap beer, you know, family-friendly. And what, you know, these bowlers are saying in their new lawsuit is that, you know, when Lucky Strike comes in, they really, you know, not only are buying these independent bowling centers but are really changing their character, in part to improve its profits.
So, you know, Lucky Strike really brands itself as, like, an entertainment company. It claims that it wants to be, like, a mini Disney. And so when Lucky Strike buys many of these independent bowling alleys, you know, the lawsuit says that it brings in, you know, loud music. You know, the cheap beer is replaced by more expensive cocktails. And it does things like, you know, allegedly cut maintenance and operating hours, all to, you know, pad its bottom line. And, you know, it's a playbook that, you know, Wall Street or private-equity-bought companies have used in other industries too, and now it seems that it's coming to bowling.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, in a statement to NPR, Lucky Strike called the lawsuit meritless and said they are confident in their conduct, the law and will, quote, "defend this case vigorously and to the fullest." What are the bowlers who brought this lawsuit calling on Lucky Strike to actually do?
SCHWENK: Yeah. So they're asking, you know, not only for damages, but also for the court to, you know, unwind some of these purchases. You know, in some markets, Lucky Strike owns, you know, as much as 95% of the market share, so, you know, that obviously reduces choice. You know, if you - if Lucky Strike is the only - your only option, you know, you're sort of forced to go there. There's less competition.
So these consumers are asking for these purchases to be rolled back. They're also asking for Lucky Strike to, you know, divest from its ownership of the Professional Bowling Association, which is sort of the premier organization, you know, for bowling as a sport, which, you know, Lucky Strike, when it was known as Bowlero, bought a few years back. So they're really trying to bring back, you know, power to the independent bowling center and hopefully make bowling a more competitive market.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Katya Schwenk with the independent investigative news outlet The Lever. Thanks a lot for your reporting on this.
SCHWENK: Thanks so much for having me.
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