In a letter to Treasury Secretary Lew, the Brewers Association (as part of an industry coalition that includes the National Beer Wholesalers Association) requested clarification from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the federal role with respect to category management. This comes in the wake of an announcement by the grocery chain Kroger that it will form a Planogram Center of Excellence to determine shelf sets for all alcohol beverages in its stores overseen by Southern Wine & Spirits, a national wine and spirits distributor, and funded by suppliers and wholesalers. Such an approach raises concerns of possible trade practice violations, particularly prohibitions on providing a thing of value to a retailer.