Coles a corporate case study in taking one’s comeuppance
Corporate Australia would do well to study the way supermarket giant Coles handled explosive allegations of "unconscionable conduct" that will include a review of up to 220 suppliers with combined sales of $660 million.
After initially denying any wrongdoing when the allegations were lobbed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) in May, Coles has opted to kill the bad publicity by pre-empting the outcome of a court judgement.
In a statement, Coles boss John Durkin did a full-blown mea culpa and admitted it had behaved badly to some of its suppliers. "Coles sincerely regrets and apologises for its conduct in these dealings".
It was a big victory for the ACCC on many fronts. While the $10 million fine is inconsequential for the supermarket leviathan, it has sent a message to all companies that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Coles has changed its processes and entered an undertaking to set up a formal review process to be headed by Jeff Kennett. Sydney Morning Herald – Read more…
After initially denying any wrongdoing when the allegations were lobbed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) in May, Coles has opted to kill the bad publicity by pre-empting the outcome of a court judgement.
In a statement, Coles boss John Durkin did a full-blown mea culpa and admitted it had behaved badly to some of its suppliers. "Coles sincerely regrets and apologises for its conduct in these dealings".
It was a big victory for the ACCC on many fronts. While the $10 million fine is inconsequential for the supermarket leviathan, it has sent a message to all companies that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Coles has changed its processes and entered an undertaking to set up a formal review process to be headed by Jeff Kennett. Sydney Morning Herald – Read more…
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