SYDNEY, May 18, 2026, 06:09 AEST
- Coles last closed at A$20.81 on Friday, up 0.7% on the day but down from A$21.63 a week earlier.
- The Federal Court found Coles made misleading representations in 13 of 14 sample “Down Down” price tickets; penalties will be set later. ACCC
- The ASX cash market was still closed before pre-open; normal trading starts just before 10 a.m. Sydney time.
Coles Group Ltd enters the new trading week with its shares under pressure from a court loss over discount claims and fresh scrutiny of supermarket pricing, after the stock closed Friday at A$20.81. It has slipped 3.8% from the previous Friday’s close of A$21.63.
The timing matters because the Federal Court ruling cuts at a core lever for supermarkets: promotions that pull shoppers through the door. Vantage Markets analyst Hebe Chen said the “court ruling is the clear trigger” for weakness, but investors are also pricing the risk that Coles’ “discounting playbook becomes less flexible.” Reuters
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Coles’ conduct made it harder for shoppers to identify real value on household essentials. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the case had “increased transparency and accountability” around the Down Down program, with penalties and other orders still to be determined. ACCC
A new analysis published Monday kept the issue live. It looked at “high-low” pricing, meaning a product moves between full price and a sale price, at Coles and Woolworths. Erin Turner, chief executive of the Consumer Policy Research Centre, said: “This is not what competition looks like.” Dr Christina Anthony at the University of Sydney said the tactic could be “commercially rational,” while still eroding price clarity for shoppers. The Guardian
Woolworths is the relevant peer in the week ahead. The ACCC brought similar proceedings against Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, and Reuters reported that hearings had concluded but judgment was still pending. Woolworths shares also fell after the Coles decision last week.
The broader market backdrop was not strong enough to give Coles much cover. The S&P/ASX 200, Australia’s main share-market benchmark, last stood at 8,630.80, down 0.11%; S&P Dow Jones Indices says the index measures the 200 largest eligible ASX stocks by float-adjusted market value.
Coles’ trading update earlier this month gives investors a reason not to read the legal hit in isolation. The company reported third-quarter group sales revenue of A$10.70 billion, up 3.1%, with supermarkets sales up 4.0% and online, or e-commerce, sales up 24.8%. Liquor sales fell 3.9%. Chief Executive Leah Weckert said Coles had delivered “another strong sales result” while navigating volatile market and supply-chain conditions.
The company also flagged cost pressure. Coles said fourth-quarter supermarket sales growth had stayed broadly in line with the third quarter, but supplier cost-price requests and its own fuel, freight and packaging costs had risen in recent weeks. Weckert said “value and availability” would be important to customers in the months ahead.
The risk for shareholders is not just the size of any fine. A stricter reading of discount rules could make promotions less nimble, while higher supplier and freight costs could leave Coles with a harder choice between protecting margins and holding prices down for shoppers. The counter-case is that penalties land below worst fears and supermarket volumes remain firm enough to absorb some of the hit.
For Monday, the first test is mechanical: whether sellers reappear when the ASX moves from pre-open into normal trading, the phase when orders are matched continuously. Beyond that, investors will watch for any Coles appeal signal, penalty timetable, and the pending Woolworths decision.
