Whether Coles and Woolworths have scored an untimely own-goal on behalf of corporate Australia depends on the strength of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket majors.

But there can be no doubt Gina Cass-Gottlieb is making the biggest statement of her relatively short time as head of the ACCC by taking action against Coles and Woolworths for allegedly misleading customers by offering so-called fake discounts on a range of staple groceries.