<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Supermarket giant </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/woolworths" rel="" target="_blank" title="Woolworths"><span>Woolworths</span></a><span> will defend its discounting regime in court against consumer watchdog claims it used fake discounts to mislead customers despite higher prices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Woolworths will present its case to the Federal Court after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/coles" rel="" target="_blank" title="Coles"><span>Coles</span></a><span> made its defence in February, with the court withholding judgment until both grocery juggernauts have offered their arguments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/accc-supermarkets-report-coles-woolworths-aldi-and-metcash-in-the-spotlight/dcfff44f-ba5f-4a4e-94b9-8837e2f2aea2" rel="" target="_blank" title="The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched the joint action in 2024"><span>The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched the joint action in 2024</span></a><span>, alleging the pair broke consumer law by hiking prices on everyday items for brief periods before reducing them as part of their separate "Prices Dropped" and "Down Down" promotions.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/redundancies-australia-jacques-bergh-dealing-with-redundancy-exclusive/9a8c37d8-7d97-4369-8c35-50aafbbaab3f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Jacques has applied for over 100 jobs. He says AI is making it impossible to stand out</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/apple-ceo-tim-cook-steps-down-as-ceo-who-is-engineering-chief-john-ternus/a69b0252-ab9e-419a-a2e3-b970e1e9c77e" target="_blank"><strong><span>Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down after 15 years</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The discounted prices were often the same or higher than the original shelf prices and therefore deliberately misled consumers, the ACCC claims.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The watchdog alleges the conduct involved 266 products for Woolworths at different times across 20 months between late 2021 and mid-2023, impacting tens of millions of sales by itself and Coles.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-to-defend-discount-regime-infederal-court/1cb6e666-cef2-4e8b-8de4-d7922ff975a8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The product list was pared down to 12 agreed items to be scrutinised in court, including a Tim Tams Family pack, Carman's classic fruit and nut muesli bars and Sakata rice crackers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We allege these misleading claims about illusory discounts diminished the ability of consumers to make informed choices about what products to buy, and where," ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/dezi-freeman-hideout-a-look-inside-australias-most-famous-shipping-container/6c09db84-df3f-40a0-88b9-ad4673e66716" target="_blank"><strong><span>Dezi Freeman's hideout: A look inside Australia's most infamous shipping container</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The watchdog is not alleging Coles and Woolworths have colluded or engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a statement to AAP, Woolworths said it fundamentally disagreed with the claims and at no stage misled or deceived its customers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Following COVID, there was a period of extraordinary inflation, and we were acutely aware that customers expected Woolworths to provide value wherever possible," the spokesman said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Inflation also put pressure on our suppliers' costs, and we worked with them to reduce the inflationary impact on customers through our Prices Dropped program."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The supermarket giant said it respected the ACCC's role and took the allegations seriously.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The case resumes as a new wave of inflation is set to hit Australian consumers due to soaring oil prices sparked by the US-led war on Iran.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's supermarket sector has come under heavy scrutiny after cost pressures borne by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting multiple inquiries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One such probe found Australian supermarkets to be some of the world's most profitable, with margins expanding in the years after the pandemic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It found no evidence of price gouging, but the watchdog has flagged potential future legal action through new excessive pricing laws set to come into effect in 2026.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coles and Woolworths account for roughly two-thirds of the Australian supermarket industry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div 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