Well, just as a personal data point, when Glock first came on the scene, they got several LEO's to adopt them. I was living in Aladamnbama at the time and the guy who owned the LGS was a Sheriff in Jefferson County. He told me how great and reliable the Glock was. I bought one from him. Damn thing wouldn't hardly get through a magazine without a stovepipe. Bang, bang, stovepipe, clear, bang, stovepipe......and on and on. He even came out and shot it, same thing. It went back to Glock TWICE. Same results. Sold it and bought a Walther that ran smooth as silk.
Fast forward to today. The MUCH better half has a G19 and it's flawless. So I obviously got a lemon way back. But had you told me about how crappy Glocks were before she got hers, I'd have believed it.
Richard Gere's character tied up the other guys contract with the navy by influencing some senator. That's just the way those guys play hardball. I don't care for that type of business, personally, but you better believe it happens. And if you don't think the big box stores leverage their influence and campaign contributions to their favor, you're naive. They all do it. Big businesses lobby the congress to impose things like $10mm surety bond requirements which effectively puts small guys out of business. They might insist on benefits or controls that small business cannot manage. Government compliance is a big deal for many small businesses. I don't see big business lobbying to change those laws. Natural barriers to entry are fine, but government regulation for the most part isn't in my opinion. 
