It’s amazing how short our collective memories are. With the eyes of the nation firmly focused on the battle for the White House, the CFMEU scandal and the build up to the Olympic Games, it is easy to forget that barely two months ago in a parliamentary inquiry, a Senate committee mulled the creation of laws to break up supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, amid a plethora of probes into their conduct.

With reporting season around the corner, Coles chief executive Leah Weckert and outgoing Woolies CEO Brad Banducci won’t feel like they’re safe yet – there will be plenty of scrutiny on their profits and, in particular, their margins in the coming month.