Supermarket chain Aldi is suing Coles in the Federal Court for misleading and deceptive conduct regarding a number of Christmas advertisements it broadcast during December.
According to papers filed in the Federal Court on Christmas Eve, Aldi is suing Coles over the advertisements which promised a “lowest price guarantee” when in fact Aldi had the cheaper prices.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Coles broadcast a number of advertisements between December 3 to 24, in which it stated 12 Christmas-related products, including hams, turkeys, mangoes and Christmas puddings, were cheaper at their stores than any rival supermarket.
However, Aldi has taken objection to this and stated Coles made these claims “when in fact a consumer could acquire each of these grocery items at the same or lower prices from a competitive retail store”, according to court papers.
The chain is requesting the Federal Court make an injunction to stop Coles from representing its products were made available at cheaper prices when, “at the time the representation is made another retail store in the location concerning which the representation was made offers the same or lower prices for directly competitive grocery products”.
Additionally, Aldi is also requesting an order for corrective advertising, damages and costs.
A spokesperson for Aldi said they were not prepared to comment on the matter, while Coles did not return calls before publication.
The matter is set to appear before the court in a directions hearing on February 5.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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