ACCC is claiming that Colgate and Cussons made and gave effect to cartel and other anti-competitive arrangements. ACCC documents filed with the court detail one email from a Cussons executive about a series of meetings where the alleged cartel was discussed and planned, in which the co-ordination was dubbed “Project Mastermind”. “Ultra concentrate detergents are cheaper to produce, store and transport. The ACCC alleges that this offered significant cost savings which, by agreement, were not passed onto consumers,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement this afternoon. “These alleged arrangements also standardised the ultra-concentrate products offered, denying consumers a variety of choices on pricing, package volumes and the strength of the concentrate product.” “By way of contrast, when similar products were launched in New Zealand, there was significant discounting, such as offering a larger pack for the price of a smaller pack.

‘‘The ACCC alleges that the benefits of these competitive actions were denied to Australian consumers”. Specifically, the ACCC alleges that Colgate, Cussons and Unilever Australia Limited (Unilever) entered into arrangements to: cease supplying standard concentrate laundry detergents in the first quarter of 2009 and supply only ultra concentrates from that time;

simultaneously transition their laundry detergents to ultra concentrates which met certain requirements;

and sell ultra concentrates for the same price per wash as the equivalent standard concentrated products and not pass on the cost savings to consumers. Unilever blew whistle It appears that Unilever blew the whistle on the cartel and approached the ACCC seeking immunity. The ACCC said that Unilever applied for immunity under the ACCC’s Immunity Policy for Cartel Conduct.

Unilever consented to be named as the immunity applicant in this matter, the ACCC said this afternoon. The ACCC is also alleging that Mr Ansell, a former sales director of Colgate, and Woolworths were knowingly concerned in the alleged arrangements. The ACCC alleges in early 2008 Colgate, part of the Colgate-Palmolive group which is one of America’s biggest consumer products companies and one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world, made a proposal that aimed to achieve an industry-wide transition to ultra concentrates. In court documents lodged with the Federal Court today it claims that at meeting that included Mr Ansell and Woolworths on or about January 8 2008, a representative of Colgate told those gathered that all manufacturers of laundry detergents in Australia would reach an agreement to transition to ultra-concentrate products by a certain date and that there would be pricing parity between standard concentrates and ultra concentrates. The meeting was held at Woolworths’ offices in Sydney, court documents claim, and included Woolworths general manager longlife supermarkets James Aylen and two other Woolworths staff: Gordon Duncan and Stan Fuchs.

Other meetings were held in 2008 and 2009, including site visits overseas to North America where the transition to ultra-concentrates was further discussed and planned. The court documents claim further that a meeting in April 2008 an agreement in principle was reached amongst Colgate, Cussons and Unilever to switch to ultra-concentrates in 2009. The transition was executed in the first quarter of 2009. The ACCC has also alleged that Woolworths played a key role in organising the simultaneous transition to ultra concentrates and the introduction of an anti-competitive pricing strategy for the transition. The ACCC alleges that Woolworths was knowingly concerned in these arrangements. 'Don't look suspicious'

An email obtained by the ACCC contained within its court documents show the level of co-operation within the industry. The email, from a high ranking Colgate executive to various Colgate directors and staff about the move to ultra-concentrates and industry co-operation, says : “We need to be sensitive to this industry desire to create a new charter for detergents, to be more sustainable and all other reasons. ‘‘I do not care if it is ready tomorrow. That is not my issue. My issue is as an industry to work together, to maintain our credibility and not look suspicious.’’ Woolworths hits back In a brief statement released this afternoon Woolworths said it would vigorously defend the action brought against it by the competition regulator and has lashed out at the ACCC for the way the it dealt with it in the lead up to today’s court action. ‘‘We are particularly concerned that good process has been compromised by the need to meet arbitrary deadlines set by the [ACCC]," the statement says. ‘‘Woolworths has serious concerns about the way the ACCC has engaged with us.’’

Woolworths said it took the allegations around the alleged cartel seriously and would co-operate with the ACCC. Woolworths also said it should be made clear the ACCC has not alleged that Woolworths was party to any cartel. It also said its early analysis showed Woolworths’ retail price of about half the relevant products decreased in the year following the transition to ultra-concentrates.