Senior executives from Woolworths will be grilled at an inquiry into the nation’s supermarkets, with Coles bosses to be put to the test later this week.
Details on prices, profitability, competition and supply chains are at the top of the agenda for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) probe initiated by the federal government.
Woolworths’ senior leaders will appear on Monday and Tuesday while those from Coles will face the inquiry on Thursday and Friday, with members of the public able to tune in via a livestream.
The probe is putting costs under the microscope, including how wholesale prices translate to customers at the check out.
Last week, the inquiry heard the two biggest retailers dictate supplier price rises which leaves Metcash, which licenses independent grocery chain IGA, at the whim of those increases.
Coles and Woolworths have two-thirds market share of supermarket sales, Aldi has about ten per cent and Metcash-supplied retailers have about seven per cent.
Overseas grocery markets are more competitive than Australia’s duopoly-dominated sector, Aldi’s national buying managing director Jordan Lack told the inquiry.
Metcash food division chief Grant Ramage said the key measure of whether a price change sticks and is applied across the Australia market is whether Coles and Woolworths accept it.
The ACCC’s final report is due in February and the watchdog is separately taking legal action against the two biggest retailers, accusing them of misleading customers with fake discounts.
The commission alleges they bumped up the price of products by 15 per cent for short periods before dropping the price and selling them under Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” promotion and Coles’ “Down Down” promotion.
Last week, Coles and Woolworths revealed they will fight class action lawsuits filed in the Federal Court over claims they deceived customers through misleading promotions on everyday products.
Last week, Coles and Woolworths revealed they will fight class action lawsuits filed in the Federal Court over claims they deceived customers through misleading promotions on everyday products.
The aim of that action taken by law firm Gerard Malouf and Partners is to secure compensation for customers.
The federal government has proposed changes to merger laws and a mandatory food and grocery code of conduct, which would carry multimillion dollar penalties for serious breaches.
