Coles tricked customers; Taiwan hotspot at XI-Trump meet, Qantas targets NZ
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Fear and Greed, business news you can use today. Coles found to have used sham discount offers to trick customers. Xi Jinping and Donald Trump meet in Beijing and Taiwan immediately becomes the focal point. And Angus Taylor outlines the Coalition's budget response. Plus Qantas targets travel to New Zealand and why Harvard University wants to cut the number of high grades it gives out. It is Friday the 15th of May 2026. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning Sean Aylmer. Morning Michael. You're fully refreshed now that you're back in the studio having had a couple of nights sleep.
What deceptive practices did Coles use to trick customers?
Oh it's very nice. It's just refreshing being back with you. I think that's the key here. I think it is the key.
What was the significance of the Xi-Trump meeting regarding Taiwan?
Now, the main story this morning, Sean, that probably wasn't the answer you were expecting, but it's the answer you're going to get. The federal court has ruled that Coles used sham discount offers to trick shoppers into believing that they were paying less for products when in reality they were actually paying more. This is a landmark win for the competition regulator. Justice Michael O'Brien found that 13 of the 14 sample products used in the case were were sold at misleading discounts in Coles' down-down promotion because they were not sold at a new higher price for at least 12 weeks.
What are Angus Taylor's proposals in response to the budget?
Now, this dates back to 2024 when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged that Coles and Woolies deliberately misled customers with their discount promotions. The case against Coles was heard in February 2026. The Woolies' hearing concluded just two weeks ago.
How is Qantas planning to compete with Air New Zealand?
Judgment's still coming on that one. At the heart of the dispute with Coles and with Woolies is how long Coles should wait before describing a product as being on discount. The court heard Coles sold a 1.2 kilo bag of dog food for $4 for 296 days. For seven days, it went to $6.00. And then it became a down-down promotion after that seven days at $4.50, which of course is higher than the original $4. Seven days isn't long enough to be part of the down-down promotion, Justice O'Brien wrote. While the initial jump in price might have been justified, as in there wasn't price gouging, the $4 to $6 was fair.
Why is Harvard University considering capping high grades?
Mm-hmm.
He indicated that the new price needed to be constant for about three months before Coles could then whack it on their down-down promotions. So, since they hadn't done that and only done it for a week, they got done over.
It's interesting that he's actually then established what they need to do in the future then as well, that that three-month mark provides clarity for everyone. But this is... This is big. It is certainly one of the highest profile wins for the ACCC, for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in recent years. Yes, it is based on a narrow sample of products, but considering 13 out of 14 were found to kind of fit the bill here, it does provide a pretty clear warning to all retailers to not push the boundaries on claims that they make about discounts, right?
Yeah, and what the regulator argued with Coles and has argued with Woolies, we haven't got that decision, is that the two major supermarket chains tricked shoppers over discounts. As you mentioned, really critical here is that basically Justice O'Brien has set the standard for how long a product needs to be at a certain price before it can be reduced and considered a discount, and that's 12 weeks. How damaging is this to Coles? Well... It's probably unclear. I mean, the share price was down a couple of percent yesterday. Not good. Financial penalty still to come. I think it's a PR, really, where the big damage is. So there's that. But what I think will be interesting, next time you go to a mall, shopping centre, and you walk along and you look at all the shops with discounts on.
Yeah.
And every one of those shop owners now are going to be thinking to themselves, wow, do I make that three-month mark? So what if your clothing, electronics, any of those things, if you're saying down by 25%, they're going to want to make sure that for the three months previously, it was at that fixed price.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:39
2
What deceptive practices did Coles use to trick customers?
0:39–0:46
3
What was the significance of the Xi-Trump meeting regarding Taiwan?
0:46–1:22
4
What are Angus Taylor's proposals in response to the budget?
1:22–1:38
5
How is Qantas planning to compete with Air New Zealand?
1:38–2:21
6
Why is Harvard University considering capping high grades?
2:21–11:39
7
What impact does the ruling against Coles have on retail discount practices?
11:39–17:57
Speakers
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