{"id":483985,"date":"2026-02-16T16:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483985\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:33:15","slug":"down-down-campaign-focus-of-misleading-pricing-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483985\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Down down’ campaign focus of misleading pricing claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elias<\/p>\n

Updated February 16, 2026 \u2014 5:56pm,first published 1:12pm<\/p>\n

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A top Coles executive warned colleagues that advertising a product\u2019s price as \u201cDown Down\u201d when it was cheaper just four weeks earlier was not in the spirit of the marketing campaign before the supermarket giant went on to do just that.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission read out the emails in Federal Court during the first day of a blockbuster hearing on whether Coles had misled millions of customers with \u201cillusory\u201d discounts on everyday items.<\/p>\n

\"GarryGarry Rich, SC (centre), a barrister for the ACCC, enters the Federal Court in Melbourne on Monday with colleagues Emma Bathurst (left) and Sarida McLeod.Joe Armao<\/p>\n

Using the emails, the regulator painted a picture of Coles as determined to match Woolworths\u2019 even more aggressive use of short-term price rises, followed by \u201cdiscounts\u201d that increased sales even though the items became more expensive.<\/p>\n

The case centres on a sample of items including dog food, Shapes biscuits and Coca-Cola sold between January 2021 and May 2023, which the ACCC\u2019s lawyers said were sold under a strategy that suggested discounts which were \u201cutterly misleading\u201d or a \u201chalf truth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Coles previously had sold products at a higher price for at least 12 weeks before discounting them. But in internal Coles emails from the time, staff observed how rival Woolworths raised prices for shorter periods. \u201cThey (Woolworths) are really pushing the line here,\u201d one email said.<\/p>\n

As Coles\u2019 staff considered whether to follow suit with just four weeks before a price change, then-head of pricing and value Chris Reid sent a cautious internal note. Reid said that while a \u201cDown Down\u201d promotion within four weeks of an established price was permitted, it would not be in the \u201cspirit\u201d of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Coles proceeded regardless and change the minimum window to four weeks that established prices need to last before a \u201cDown Down\u201d discount.<\/p>\n

At the hearing in Melbourne, the ACCC\u2019s lawyers also referenced sales and revenue figures from Coles they say showed how effective the \u201cDown Down\u201d label was in persuading shoppers.<\/p>\n

Barrister Garry Rich, SC, leading the ACCC\u2019s case, noted that Karicare baby formula generated about $67,800 in weekly sales revenue when marketed as a \u201cDown Down\u201d special priced at $21, compared with $49,800 per week when priced regularly at $24. \u201cSubstantially more revenue is generated when on promotion than not,\u201d Rich said.<\/p>\n

In preparing its case, which was launched in 2024 and will go for 10 days in court, the watchdog has filed evidence of 245 products\u2019 prices over 15 months. Of the products in the evidence, their first price was on offer for a median period of a year before being increased to its second price, a median of 28 days, before being reduced to a third \u201cDown Down\u201d price which was higher or equal to the first price.<\/p>\n

Coles rejects that this constituted misleading conduct, and says the \u201cDown Down\u201d prices were a genuine discount after suppliers had increased the cost of the products. Coles\u2019 lead barrister John Sheahan, KC, began outlining the supermarkets case late on Monday, making mention of inflation data submitted as evidence.<\/p>\n

\"BarristersBarristers for Coles (from left): Andrew Barraclough, Sahrah Hogan and John Sheahan, KC, on Monday.Joe Armao<\/p>\n

Woolworths, which is also facing allegations from the ACCC of misleading customers with its discounts, has denied the claims and its case will be heard later this year.<\/p>\n

Rich opened with the example of Nature\u2019s Gift Wet Dog Food, which the watchdog alleges was priced at $4 between April 18, 2022, and February 7, 2023. It increased to $6 for seven days \u2013 its second price \u2013 before Coles introduced its third price, $4.50, advertising it as a discount from $6.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite this, Coles proceeded to tell its customers that \u2026 the price was \u2018Down Down\u2019,\u201d Rich said. \u201cA reasonable consumer who knew the real facts would not think the price of the dog food had gone down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Photo: Matt Golding<\/p>\n

In another example tendered in documents and discussed in court, Shapes biscuits were sold for $5 a packet in 2021, then got as high as $6.50 and went back to $5.50 on a Coles promotion.<\/p>\n

Justice Michael O\u2019Bryan said that while he understood the ACCC\u2019s claim, he struggled to believe that \u201cconsumers aren\u2019t so naive to believe that the price has no relationship with the cost\u201d. He queried why a product\u2019s initial price was relevant for working out if there was a discount if its cost had fundamentally changed.<\/p>\n

Rich, for the ACCC, responded by saying that when viewed over the space of a month, the consumer would have been paying more for the product, not less.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the consumer knows [from the label] is that the price is going down … [but] fundamentally the price has gone up,\u201d Rich said. \u201cWhat\u2019s said on the ticket is a half-truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Coles<\/a><\/p>\n

Rich argued that before Coles introduced its second, higher price, it had a promotional plan ready to discount it days later, and that it wasn\u2019t related to true price signals from the supplier. \u201cWe don\u2019t think that\u2019s fair dinkum,\u201d Rich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is never a scenario in which price two is going to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ACCC\u2019s lawyers argued that even if the true supplier costs of products were increasing, Coles risked a fall in sales as a result of those costs due to customers potentially switching products or buying less. Rich claimed to avoid that risk, \u201cColes disguised those price increases as discounts\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It] begs the question, why on earth are you telling your customers prices are going down? They\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point during Monday\u2019s hearing, Coles\u2019 earworm \u201cDown Down\u201d TV advertisements were played. Rich argued the screenings were relevant because they demonstrated the alleged misleading conduct on ticket prices was just part of broader messaging to consumers that discounts were genuine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Chuckles broke out in the court as the ads were first mentioned. \u201cThe jingle that sticks in one\u2019s ears for longer than is healthy,\u201d Rich said. \u201cYour honour will notice the large red hand, and that they [the prices] are not only down, but staying down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hearing resumes on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"EliasElias Visontay<\/a> is a National Consumer Affairs Reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated February 16, 2026 \u2014 5:56pm,first published 1:12pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-483985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}