00:01We're getting closing submissions from the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, today in this
00:07very important case, alleging that 245 products were sold for over a year in a way that was
00:14misleading to consumers, that it had been sold at one price for a very long period of
00:20time, jacked up in price for a very short period before being sold at a lower price,
00:26but one that was higher than the first price in most cases.
00:30And we've heard a lot of evidence last week, and I expect the ACCC will put meaning around
00:37that evidence we heard from a lot of Coles managers, and I think they will try and mount
00:42the argument that not only was this a misleading campaign against consumers, but it was planned
00:49and deliberate, and this was something that Coles was doing in order to chase its arch-rival
00:55Woolworths.
00:56We've had this procession of Coles managers, middle managers who were in charge of negotiating
01:02with suppliers on price, and I think it's fair to say that Coles would have preferred that
01:08none of this evidence make it out into the public domain, but this is what's required
01:13to defend a court case like this.
01:15And I think what was most interesting is that there was a lot of questions about Coles'
01:21internal policies, known as guardrails, in order to make sure that discounting wasn't
01:27misleading to consumers.
01:29And one of the managers conceded that they had, in fact, broken their internal guidelines
01:36about how long a price should be offered before it was discounted for Arnott Shapes, and she
01:42blamed human error for that.
01:44But there's been hard questioning at a lot of Coles managers on that very point.
01:49For Coles, most seriously, they face a very large fine, so $50 million or more is within
01:57expectation.
01:58Some experts have told me that they think it could be beyond $100 million if they're found
02:03guilty of misleading consumers.
02:05There's also this reputational damage that Coles has suffered from the lawsuit going on
02:12and the trial going on, damaging headlines day after day.
02:15But if this verdict cements that they did mislead consumers, that will be a very hard pill for
02:22the supermarket to swallow.
02:23And I think on the ACCC side, if they lose this case, it will be a massive loss for them.
02:29They've got another almost identical case against Woolworths waiting in the wings.
02:34But there will be questions about the judgment of the consumer watchdog in taking this case.
02:40It was taken amidst a political firestorm over supermarket pricing.
02:46And so there will be questions about whether the consumer watchdog was influenced by the
02:52political climate if this case fails.
02:54So big stakes for all sides.
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