Key Points
- The Coles chairman said cost of living issues were being “politicized” to distract from inflation.
- Ongoing Senate and ACCC investigations focus on supermarket prices and supply chain practices.
- Coles and Woolworths control around two-thirds of the grocery sector and have been accused of abusing their market power.
Coles criticized Australian politicians for “politicizing” cost of living issues to attack supermarkets and avoid tough questions about inflation.
The grocery giant’s chairman, James Graham, told shareholders that Coles was well aware of the economic pressures facing customers and was continually looking for ways to respond to them and build customer confidence.
“In this context, it has been disappointing to see the extent to which cost of living issues have been politicized and targeted at supermarket operations,” he said at the annual general meeting on Tuesday. business.
Coles and rival Woolworths are in the crosshairs of politicians and the consumer watchdog after a year damaging the sector’s reputation.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in September, claiming they misled shoppers by dramatically raising prices before lowering them slightly on hundreds of popular products and passing them off as a discount.
But Graham said the fluctuations were the result of price hikes by suppliers and not a deliberate attempt to defraud consumers.
“The issues raised by the ACCC relate to a period of significant inflation leading to a sharp increase in supplier cost prices,” he said.
“The subsequent discounts offered to customers on these items were the result of promotional investment by the supplier and Coles, which reduced the on-shelf price at a time when households were under significant pressure on the cost of life.”
Coles and Woolworths together control around two-thirds of the grocery sector and have been accused by to abuse their market power to the detriment of buyers and suppliers.
The Coalition has threatened to introduce laws that would allow the big chains to be broken up by force.
In response to a question from a shareholder about how Coles was working to minimize regulatory risks, Graham said the company was committed to ensuring all parts of the business did the right thing.
“We are cooperating fully with all ongoing investigations,” he said.
“But I think there has been a broader ambition on the part of some behind these investigations, perhaps aimed at providing answers to more difficult problems which have arisen, as I mentioned, from the inflation, which was observed in previous eras.”
Managing director Leah Weckert said Coles was increasingly concerned about the growing trend of threatening situations directed at frontline staff over the past 12 to 18 months.
“We are working with the industry to respond to this worrying trend affecting many retailers, while continuing to deploy de-escalation training to our team members to help reduce the number and severity of incidents,” he said. she declared.
Coles executives will face the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry later in November.
