The ACCC has commenced separate proceedings in the Federal Court against Woolworths Group Limited (Woolworths) (ASX: WOW) and Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Coles) (a subsidiary of Coles Group Limited - ASX: COL) for allegedly breaching the Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers through discount pricing claims on hundreds of common supermarket products.
ACCC 已在联邦法院对 Woolworths Group Limited (Woolworths) (ASX: WOW) 和 Coles Supermarkets 澳大利亚私人有限公司 (Coles)(Coles Group Limited - ASX: COL 的子公司)提起了单独的诉讼,指控他们违反了《澳大利亚消费者法》,通过对数百种常见超市产品的折扣价格索赔来误导消费者。
The ACCC’s allegations relate to products sold by each of Woolworths and Coles at regular long-term prices which remained the same, excluding short-term specials, for at least six months and in many cases for at least a year.
ACCC 的指控涉及 Woolworths 和 Coles 各自以正常的长期价格销售的产品,这些价格保持不变,不包括短期特价,至少六个月,在许多情况下至少一年。
The products were then subject to price rises of at least 15 per cent for brief periods, before being placed in Woolworths’ ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion and Coles’ ‘Down Down’ promotion, at prices lower than during the price spike but higher than, or the same as, the regular price that applied before the price spike.
然后,这些产品在短时间内至少上涨 15% 的价格,然后被置于 Woolworths 的“降价”促销活动和 Coles 的“降价”促销活动中,价格低于价格飙升期间,但高于或等于价格飙升前适用的正常价格。
“Following many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products. However, in the case of these products, we allege the new ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
“经过 Woolworths 和 Coles 多年的营销活动,澳大利亚消费者已经开始明白,'降价'和'降价'促销活动与超市产品正常价格的持续降低有关。然而,就这些产品而言,我们声称新的'降价'和'降价'促销价格实际上高于或等于之前的正常价格,“ACCC 主席 Gina Cass-Gottlieb 说。
“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.”
“我们声称,Woolworths 和 Coles 都违反了《澳大利亚消费者法》,对折扣做出了误导性声明,而这些折扣实际上是虚幻的。”
“We also allege that in many cases both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ promotion before the price spike, and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
Cass-Gottlieb 女士说:“我们还声称,在许多情况下,Woolworths 和 Coles 都已经计划在价格飙升之前将产品置于'降价'或'降价'促销活动中,并实施了临时价格飙升,目的是建立更高的'原价'价格。
The ACCC alleges the conduct involved 266 products for Woolworths at different times across 20 months, and 245 products for Coles at different times across 15 months. The representations were made on pricing tickets displayed to consumers in-store on supermarket shelves and online, usually with a ‘was’ price displayed showing what the price was during the short-term price spike and the date of that price.
ACCC 称,该行为涉及 Woolworths 在 20 个月不同时间的 266 种产品,以及 15 个月内不同时间为 Coles 提供的 245 种产品。这些陈述是在店内超市货架和网上向消费者展示的定价票上做出的,通常显示“原价”价格,显示短期价格飙升期间的价格和该价格的日期。
The ACCC identified this conduct through consumer contacts to the ACCC and social media monitoring, and then conducted an in-depth investigation using its compulsory powers.
ACCC 通过与消费者与 ACCC 的接触和社交媒体监控发现了这种行为,然后利用其强制性权力进行了深入调查。
“Many consumers rely on discounts to help their grocery budgets stretch further, particularly during this time of cost of living pressures. It is critical that Australian consumers are able to rely on the accuracy of pricing and discount claims,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
“许多消费者依靠折扣来帮助他们的杂货预算进一步增加,尤其是在生活成本面临压力的时期。澳大利亚消费者能够依赖定价和折扣声明的准确性至关重要,“Cass-Gottlieb 女士说。
“We allege these misleading claims about illusory discounts diminished the ability of consumers to make informed choices about what products to buy, and where.”
“我们声称,这些关于虚幻折扣的误导性声明削弱了消费者就购买什么产品以及在哪里购买做出明智选择的能力。”
The ACCC estimates that Woolworths and Coles sold tens of millions of the affected products and derived significant revenue from those sales.
ACCC 估计,Woolworths 和 Coles 售出了数千万件受影响的产品,并从这些销售中获得了大量收入。
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and other orders. The ACCC is also seeking community service orders that Woolworths and Coles must each fund a registered charity to deliver meals to Australians in need, in addition to their pre-existing charitable meal delivery programs.
ACCC 正在寻求声明、处罚、费用和其他命令。ACCC 还在寻求社区服务命令,Woolworths 和 Coles 必须各自资助一个注册慈善机构,除了他们先前存在的慈善送餐计划外,还要为有需要的澳大利亚人送餐。
Alleged conduct 被指控的行为
The ACCC alleges that the supermarkets offered certain products at a regular price for at least 180 days. They then increased the price of the product by at least 15 per cent for a relatively short period of time, and subsequently placed it onto their ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ program.
ACCC 声称,超市以正常价格提供某些产品至少 180 天。然后,他们在相对较短的时间内将产品价格提高了至少 15%,随后将其纳入他们的“降价”或“降价”计划。
The ACCC alleges the display of the Prices Dropped and Down Down tickets was misleading, as the price of the products was in fact higher than or the same as the regular price at which the supermarket had previously offered the products for sale.
ACCC 声称,显示 Prices Drops 和 Down Down 门票具有误导性,因为产品的价格实际上高于或等于超市之前出售产品的正常价格。
Alleged conduct by Woolworths
Woolworths 的指控行为
The ACCC alleges that Woolworths made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 266 products during the period between September 2021 and May 2023.
ACCC 称,Woolworths 在 2021 年 9 月至 2023 年 5 月期间就 266 种产品的价格向消费者做出了虚假或误导性陈述。
Products affected include Arnott’s Tim Tams biscuits, Dolmio sauces, Doritos salsa, Energizer batteries, Friskies cat food, Kellogg’s cereal, President butter, Listerine mouthwash, Moccona coffee capsules, Mother energy drinks, Mr Chen’s noodles, Nicorette patches, Ocean Blue smoked salmon, Oreo cookies, Palmolive dishwashing liquid, Raid insect spray, Sprite soft drink, Stayfree pads, Twisties, Uncle Tobys muesli bars, and Vicks VapoDrops.
受影响的产品包括 Arnott's Tim Tams 饼干、Dolmio 酱、Doritos 莎莎酱、Energizer 电池、Friskies 猫粮、家乐氏麦片、President butter、Listerine 漱口水、Moccona 咖啡胶囊、Mother 能量饮料、Mr Chen's 面条、Nicorette 贴片、Ocean Blue 烟熏鲑鱼、奥利奥饼干、Palmolive 洗碗液、Raid 杀虫喷雾剂、雪碧软饮料、Stayfree 卫生巾、Twisties、Uncle Tobys 麦片棒和 Vicks VapoDrops。
Example - Oreo Family Pack Original 370g
示例 - Oreo Family Pack Original 370 克
From at least 1 January 2021 until 27 November 2022, Woolworths offered the Oreo Family Pack Original 370g product for sale at a regular price of $3.50 on a pre-existing ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion for at least 696 days.
至少从 2021 年 1 月 1 日至 2022 年 11 月 27 日,Woolworths 以 3.50 美元的正常价格提供奥利奥家庭装原装 370 克产品,在预先存在的“降价”促销活动中至少持续 696 天。
On 28 November 2022, the price was increased to $5.00 for a period of 22 days. On 20 December 2022, the product was placed on a ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion with the tickets showing a ‘Prices Dropped’ price of $4.50 and a ‘was’ price of $5.00. The ‘Prices Dropped’ price of $4.50 was in fact 29 per cent higher than the product’s previous regular price of $3.50.
2022 年 11 月 28 日,价格上调至 5.00 美元,为期 22 天。2022 年 12 月 20 日,该产品被置于“降价”促销活动中,门票显示“降价”价格为 4.50 美元,“原”价格为 5.00 美元。“降价”价格为 4.50 美元,实际上比该产品之前的正常价格 3.50 美元高出 29%。
In this example, the ACCC alleges Woolworths had planned the temporary price spike to establish a new higher ‘was’ price for the subsequent ‘promotion’. Woolworths had decided (after a request from the supplier for a price increase) on or around 18 November 2022 to take the product off ‘Prices Dropped’, increase the price, and then put the product back on to ‘Prices Dropped’ three weeks later.
在这个例子中,ACCC 声称 Woolworths 计划了临时价格飙升,以便为随后的“促销”确定新的更高的“原价”。Woolworths 决定(在供应商要求提价后)于 2022 年 11 月 18 日或前后将产品从“降价”下架,提高价格,然后在三周后将产品重新置于“降价”状态。
Alleged conduct by Coles 科尔斯被指控的行为
The ACCC alleges that Coles made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 245 products during the period between February 2022 and May 2023.
ACCC 指控 Coles 在 2022 年 2 月至 2023 年 5 月期间就 245 种产品的价格向消费者做出了虚假或误导性陈述。
Products include Arnott’s Shapes biscuits, Band-Aids, Bega cheese, Cadbury chocolates, Coca Cola soft drink, Colgate toothpaste, Danone yoghurt, Dettol multi-purpose wipes, Fab laundry liquid, Karicare formula, Kellogg’s snack bars, Kleenex tissues, Libra tampons, Lurpak butter, Maggi two-minute noodles, Nature’s Gift dog food, Nescafe instant coffee, Palmolive shampoo, Rexona deodorant, Sakata rice crackers, Sanitarium Weet-Bix cereal, Strepsils lozenges, Sunrice rice, Tena pads, Viva paper towels, Whiskas cat food, and Zafarelli pasta.
产品包括 Arnott's Shapes 饼干、创可贴、Bega 奶酪、吉百利巧克力、可口可乐软饮料、高露牙膏、达能酸奶、滴露多用途湿巾、Fab 洗衣液、Karicare 配方、家乐氏零食棒、Kleenex 纸巾、Libra 卫生棉条、Lurpak 黄油、美极两分钟面、Nature's Gift 狗粮、雀巢速溶咖啡、Palmolive 洗发水、Rexona 除臭剂、Sakata 米饼、Sanitarium Weet-Bix 麦片、Strepsils 锭剂、 Sunrice 米饭、Tena 垫、Viva 纸巾、Whiskas 猫粮和 Zafarelli 意大利面。
Example Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16 pack
示例Strepsils喉咙含片蜂蜜和柠檬16包
From at least 1 January 2021 until 11 October 2022, Coles offered the Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16 pack product for sale at a regular price of $5.50 (on a pre-existing ‘Down Down’ promotion) for at least 649 days, including one seven-day short-term special.
从至少2021年1月1日至2022年10月11日,Coles以正常价格5.50美元(在预先存在的'Down Down'促销活动中)提供Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16包产品销售至少649天,包括一次为期七天的短期特价。
On 12 October 2022, the price was then increased to $7.00 for a period of 28 days. On 9 November 2022, the product was placed on a ‘Down Down’ promotion with the tickets showing a ‘Down Down’ price of $6.00 and a ‘was’ price of $7.00. The ‘Down Down’ price of $6.00 was in fact 9 per cent higher than the product’s previous regular price of $5.50.
2022 年 10 月 12 日,价格随后上调至 7.00 美元,为期 28 天。2022 年 11 月 9 日,该产品被置于“Down Down”促销活动中,门票显示“Down Down”价格为 6.00 美元,“原”价格为 7.00 美元。6.00 美元的“Down Down”价格实际上比该产品之前的正常价格 5.50 美元高出 9%。
In this example, the ACCC alleges Coles had planned the temporary price spike to establish a new higher ‘was’ price for the subsequent ‘promotion’. Coles had decided (after a request from the supplier for a price increase) on or around 7 October 2022 to take the product off ‘Down Down’, increase the price, and then put the product back on to ‘Down Down’ four weeks later.
在此示例中,ACCC 声称 Coles 计划了临时价格飙升,以便为后续的“促销”确定新的更高的“原”价格。Coles 在 2022 年 10 月 7 日或前后决定(在供应商要求提高价格后)将该产品从“Down Down”下架,提高价格,然后在四周后将产品重新置于“Down Down”下架。
ACCC Supermarkets inquiry
ACCC 超市查询
The ACCC was directed by the Treasurer in January 2024 to conduct an inquiry into the Australian supermarket sector, pricing practices and the relationship between wholesale, farmgate and retail prices.
2024 年 1 月,财政部长指示 ACCC 对澳大利亚超市行业、定价做法以及批发、农场交货和零售价格之间的关系进行调查。
The ACCC’s investigation into the conduct which is the subject of these proceedings pre-dates this inquiry. The inquiry will not consider the issues in dispute in these proceedings.
ACCC 对作为这些诉讼主题的行为的调查早于本次调查。调查不会考虑这些程序中的争议问题。
Note to editors 编者注
The ACCC does not regulate supermarket prices.
ACCC 不监管超市价格。
The ACCC has taken proceedings in respect of alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, which provides that businesses must not make false or misleading statements about prices.
ACCC 已就涉嫌违反《澳大利亚消费者法》的行为提起诉讼,该法规定企业不得对价格做出虚假或误导性陈述。
Separate proceedings are brought against Woolworths and Coles, and the ACCC is not making any allegation of any collusion or anti-competitive conduct by Woolworths and Coles as part of these proceedings.
针对 Woolworths 和 Coles 提起了单独的诉讼,作为这些诉讼的一部分,ACCC 没有对 Woolworths 和 Coles 的任何串通或反竞争行为提出任何指控。
The ACCC is not alleging any contravention of the ACL by any of Woolworths’ and Coles’ suppliers in these proceedings.
ACCC 并未指控 Woolworths 和 Coles 的任何供应商在这些诉讼中违反了 ACL。
The maximum penalty for each breach of the Australian Consumer Law increased on 10 November 2022, part way through the period of the alleged conduct. For contraventions from 10 November 2022, the maximum penalty is the greater of:
2022 年 11 月 10 日,在被指控行为期间,对每次违反《澳大利亚消费者法》的最高处罚有所增加。对于 2022 年 11 月 10 日之后的违规行为,最高处罚为以下两者中的较大者:
- $50,000,000
- if the Court can determine the value of the 'reasonably attributable' benefit obtained, three times that value, or
如果法院可以确定所获得的“合理归属”利益的价值,则为该价值的三倍,或 -
if the Court cannot determine the value of the ‘reasonably attributable’ benefit, 30 per cent of the corporation's adjusted turnover during the breach turnover period for the contravention.
如果法院无法确定“合理归属”利益的价值,则为公司在违规周转期内因违规行为而调整后营业额的 30%。
Any penalty that might apply to this conduct is a matter for the Court to determine and would depend on the Court’s findings. The ACCC will not comment on what penalties the Court may impose.
可能适用于这种行为的任何处罚均由法院决定,并取决于法院的调查结果。ACCC 不会就法院可能施加的处罚发表评论。
Background 背景
Woolworths runs the largest supermarket chain in Australia, with about 1,140 Woolworths supermarket stores across the country.
Woolworths 经营着澳大利亚最大的连锁超市,在全国拥有约 1,140 家 Woolworths 超市门店。
The ‘Prices Dropped’ Program is promoted by Woolworths as a shelf price reduction program designed to offer Woolworths’ customers consistently low prices over a prolonged period. The objective of the Prices Dropped Program was to lower the standard shelf price of a product from its previous standard (or regular) shelf price.
“降价”计划由 Woolworths 作为一项货架降价计划进行推广,旨在为 Woolworths 的客户提供长期一致的低价。降价计划的目标是将商品的标准货架价格从之前的标准(或常规)货架价格降低。
Example of a Prices Dropped ticket
“价格已丢弃”票证示例
Coles is the second-largest supermarket chain in Australia, operating more than 840 stores nationally.
Coles 是澳大利亚第二大连锁超市,在全国经营着 840 多家门店。
Coles introduced the ‘Down Down’ Program in June 2010 and marketed it as a promotional campaign designed to reduce the regular shelf price of commonly purchased products — thereby offering customers predictable and reliable value on the items they purchased the most and reducing the cost of their shopping basket.
Coles 于 2010 年 6 月推出了“Down Down”计划,并将其作为促销活动进行营销,旨在降低常见购买产品的正常货架价格,从而为买家购买最多的商品提供可预测且可靠的价值,并降低购物篮的成本。
Example of a Down Down ticket
Down Down 工单示例
Separate to these proceedings, in December 2023, following a complaint by CHOICE and an investigation by the ACCC, Coles announced refunds for thousands of customers after it raised the price on 20 products that it had promised would remain ‘locked’ for a certain period of time as part of Coles’ ‘Dropped and Locked’ promotion.
Concise statements
ACCC v Coles - Concise Statement ( PDF 662.68 KB )
ACCC v Woolworths - Concise Statement ( PDF 727.3 KB )
These documents contain the ACCC’s initiating court documents in relation to these matters. We will not be uploading further documents in the event these initial documents are subsequently amended.