![\"Elias](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/a4d5c2fb54e9b2c94cb7e8e21c24fd556b4ef3480aa83ec12877422e35860338.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Updated February 25, 2026 \u2014 5:34pm,first published 2:39pm<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission\u2019s case that Coles misled customers with its \u201cDown Down\u201d promotions has faced a wall of critical questioning, with the judge hearing the case interrogating whether it has failed to prove its central allegation.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Justice Michael O\u2019Bryan probed the commission\u2019s claims that customers had been duped into thinking prices marked as \u201cDown Down\u201d represented a good deal, and were being offered for less than what the associated items were selling for weeks earlier.<\/p>\n The judge said the commission had not formally argued the tickets conveyed those meanings as part of its case, or proved them to be misleading. \u201cIf they are the two primary representations communicated by the [pricing] ticket \u2026 doesn\u2019t the commission\u2019s case have to fail?\u201d O\u2019Bryan asked.<\/p>\n The ACCC is seeking to prove that Coles\u2019 discounts were misleading by arguing the supermarket giant raised prices on a sample of everyday items ahead of its promotions, so it could then cut them to higher-than-original prices and falsely claim to have put the products on special.<\/p>\n Coles is fighting the claim, arguing price rises were caused by supplier pressure, inflation and market forces, and subsequent discounts offered genuine savings. However, the company\u2019s defence and witness statements of former and current staff last week prompted intense scrutiny of its legal position amid admissions of errors, and concessions that discounts had been orchestrated ahead of time.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s hearing exposed potential holes in the consumer watchdog\u2019s case.<\/p>\n Outlining the ACCC\u2019s closing submissions, its lead barrister, Garry Rich, SC, urged O\u2019Bryan to find that Coles misled consumers on multiple occasions by promoting its products as \u201cDown Down\u201d from a previous price when he argued they had, in fact, become more costly.<\/p>\n \u2018Doesn\u2019t the commission\u2019s case have to fail?\u2019<\/p>\n Federal Court Justice Michael O\u2019Bryan<\/p>\n \u201cThat representation was misleading because the \u2018was\u2019 price \u2026 was not the regular price of the product,\u201d Rich said. \u201cInstead, it was a price that had only applied for a short period \u2013 too short, in our submission, to become the regular price of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n Rich relayed the argument the ACCC has relied upon throughout the case, pointing to three price levels for products: the first, or regular price; the second or \u201cestablishing\u201d price at a new higher amount; and then the third \u201cDown Down\u201d price.<\/p>\n Rich said the case hinged on two key questions: \u201cWhat representation did the \u2018Down Down\u2019 tickets convey to their intended audience?\u201d and \u201cWas that representation misleading or deceptive?\u201d<\/p>\n He said that while many of Coles\u2019 customers \u201care well-educated and commercially astute \u2026 many are not\u201d. Most of them want to spend \u201cas little time shopping for groceries as possible\u201d, he said. \u201cIt is a chore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Customers] see a big red-and-white ticket. They read that the price is \u2018Down Down\u2019. They read that the price was much higher. They think they\u2019re being offered a good deal. The price has gone down, they\u2019re told. They think it\u2019s a genuine discount. Many will have no idea that the price was actually lower four weeks ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At this point, O\u2019Bryan interrupted Rich, warning that the commission\u2019s arguments about a consumer\u2019s thoughts of getting a good deal and their interpretation of \u201cDown Down\u201d were not formally put by the ACCC as part of its case.<\/p>\n Related Article As Rich appeared to be relying on these arguments, O\u2019Bryan broke in with his critical interjection: \u201cDoesn\u2019t the commission\u2019s case have to fail?\u201d the judge asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just warming up,\u201d Rich replied.<\/p>\n O\u2019Bryan also questioned why the commission was emphasising the fact that Coles had sold some products at one price for long periods before being briefly raising them ahead of a discount.<\/p>\n On Wednesday afternoon, Coles\u2019 lead barrister John Sheahan, KC, said shoppers would understand that when the supermarket raised prices, that was often because of inflation.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever long it had been in place, a discount would be both real and welcome,\u201d Sheahan said.<\/p>\n He said the ACCC\u2019s case \u201cmust fail\u201d because Coles\u2019 prices were genuine, even if they were not available for long, and therefore its discounts were real too.<\/p>\n The hearing continues.<\/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 Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"\u201cDown](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772031733_10_66368856822421921c8578ff56ea0802d639a3c5.jpeg\")
\u201cDown Down\u201d \u2013 was it a real special? That\u2019s for the court to decide.Eamon Gallagher<\/p>\n![\"Coles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772031733_694_fc92ea339f926b1d236441b08c680e9e8285a925.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Elias](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767935710_987_a4d5c2fb54e9b2c94cb7e8e21c24fd556b4ef3480aa83ec12877422e35860338.png\")
Elias 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 25, 2026 \u2014 5:34pm,first published 2:39pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-503356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503356","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=503356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}