‘A lot to lose’: Coles picks landmark ACCC fight as it defends expansion plans
The supermarket giant is challenging an ACCC ruling that blocked a new Kalgoorlie store and could shape future expansion under merger laws.
Coles has launched the first challenge to a decision made under the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s new merger regime, in a case that could constrain the supermarket giant’s ability to open new stores.
“It’s one of those ones…where clearly both parties have a lot to gain and both parties have a lot to lose,” Bird & Bird competition partner Thomas Jones, who is not involved in the case, told Capital Brief.
In early July, the ACCC blocked Coles’ proposed acquisition of a lease over a 2,800-square-metre site in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, where the company planned to build its second supermarket and a Liquorland store.
On Wednesday, Coles applied to the Australian Competition Tribunal for a review of the ACCC’s determination, with a spokesperson saying the issues raised “may have broader implications for future supermarket developments under the new merger regime”.
