Do we like Coles?
Australia's second-biggest supermarket chain, with liquor stores, online grocery and flybuys; based in Hawthorn East, Victoria.
Our score: 4 out of 10. Not yet. A court found its "Down Down" discounts misled shoppers, and it was found liable over staff underpayments. The green and food-donation work is real but doesn't outweigh that.
Coles is the number two supermarket in Australia behind Woolworths, based in Melbourne, with more than 1,800 outlets including its liquor shops. It also owns half of the flybuys loyalty scheme. Leah Weckert became CEO in May 2023 and was the first woman to run it. It's a household name, so the trust issues matter.
The big drama is "Down Down". The ACCC took Coles to court over 245 products. In May 2026 Justice O'Bryan found that 13 of the 14 sample tickets weren't genuine discounts and would have misled an ordinary shopper. Coles had defended the case and rejected the claim that the discounts were fake. The penalty is still to be decided.
Then there's the pay saga. Coles told the market in 2020 that it had underpaid some salaried managers. The Fair Work Ombudsman later alleged that more than 7,800 staff were short by over $115 million. A 2025 Federal Court ruling found Coles and Woolworths had systematically underpaid salaried staff. Coles' latest results book a $235 million cost tied to that judgment.
On the better side, Coles' own sustainability report says it reached 100% renewable electricity by the end of FY25. It also says it donated 19,655 tonnes of unsold food through SecondBite and Foodbank, which is more than 39 million meals. Those are the company's own numbers, reported by trade press.
Where we land: the green and food-rescue work counts. Still, a court says it misled shoppers on prices and was found liable over pay, and both hit the people who shop and work there. Recent news is also about squeezed sales, with shares falling on 30 October 2026 after it flagged flat first-half supermarket earnings. We score it 4.