Coles is pushing back hard after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission moved to stop a second Coles supermarket opening in Kalgoorlie, a regional WA city of about 30,000 people. The retailer argues the regulator has badly underestimated local population growth and overlooked the town’s sizeable fly in fly out mining workforce, which swells grocery demand.
Local council projections that Kalgoorlie needs more than 400 new homes a year highlight how quickly the area is expanding. Coles is effectively asking who will feed these new residents if new large format supermarkets are blocked.
Regulatory heat on supermarket power has been building for years, with repeated complaints, inquiries and political pressure focused on Woolworths and Coles. In January, the ACCC received new merger control powers that extend to scrutinising supermarket expansion plans more aggressively.
Using those powers, the regulator has now reviewed and then blocked Coles’ proposal to develop a new store on a vacant Kalgoorlie site. It is the first time the ACCC has used this updated regime to stop one of the two major supermarket chains from opening a new store.
Retail and property circles are watching closely because projects across Australia often rely on long leases to Coles or Woolworths to make developments financially viable. A decision that prevents a second Coles from entering Kalgoorlie rattles assumptions about how easily new large supermarket anchored centres can be approved.
Coles has responded with a sharp public statement, arguing that blocking a new greenfield supermarket does not enhance competition. It says the decision instead deprives Kalgoorlie shoppers of additional choice and convenience in their weekly grocery shop.
The Kalgoorlie outcome now looks like an early test case for how far the ACCC will push its new supermarket scrutiny powers. Retailers, developers and regional councils are likely to treat it as a benchmark for future expansion plans in growth areas.
The decision also exposes a broader policy tension between curbing supermarket dominance and supporting fast growing regional communities that need more basic services. That tension now sits at the centre of the national debate over supermarket power and regional investment.
