Coles has applied to the Australian Competition Tribunal to overturn the ACCC's block on a Kalgoorlie supermarket site, the first challenge to a decision under Australia's tougher merger regime that took effect on 1 January 2026. The outcome sets the tone for how aggressively the supermarket majors can grow by acquisition, which shapes who owns the shelf and the loyalty data attached to it.
The new merger regime has teeth. Coles is about to find out how sharp.
Coles has challenged the ACCC in the first real test of Australia's new merger laws. After the regulator blocked its plan for a supermarket and liquor site in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Coles applied to the Australian Competition Tribunal for a review.
The ACCC blocked Coles' proposed acquisition of a lease over a 2,800 square metre site in early July. It was the regulator's first outright refusal since the new merger regime took effect on 1 January 2026. Coles' application to the Tribunal is the first challenge to a decision made under that regime, which makes it the case every dealmaker in the country is watching.
The ACCC's reasoning was competition. It decided the acquisition would likely substantially lessen competition in groceries in Kalgoorlie, and that an independent full-line supermarket would probably exit, leaving shoppers with less choice and the majors with less to push against.
Why it matters
This is not a marketing story on the surface, but it decides the shape of the market marketers sell into. Australian grocery is already a tight contest between two giants. Merger rules that make it harder for them to expand change who owns the shelf, who owns the loyalty data and who owns the retail media network attached to it. The outcome sets the tone for how aggressively the majors can grow by acquisition.
Australia's tougher merger regime took effect on 1 January 2026. The Kalgoorlie case is its first contested test. Source: ACCC.
What to do about it
If you sell through the majors, watch the concentration question. Fewer independents means more power sitting with fewer buyers, and that flows through to your trading terms.
Read the Tribunal outcome when it lands. It will signal how much room Coles and Woolworths have to keep expanding by acquisition.
If you are an independent or a challenger brand, a regulator willing to protect competition is a tailwind. Position for it.
Do not assume the status quo holds. The rules that govern consolidation just changed, and the first ruling will echo through every deal that follows.
The result of this fight will shape who controls Australian retail for years. Every brand that sells through a supermarket has a stake in the answer.