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Retail giants are blaming their lower profits on theft...

Climber

Climber

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Jul 13, 2004
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Moto(s)
01 Goldwing GL1800
Name
Brett
Dollar Tree said theft is such a problem it will start locking up items or stop selling them altogether
Theft has become a growing concern for retailers. Dick’s Sporting Goods this week also cited theft as a primary reason why its profit plunged last quarter, even though sales rose.

Retailers large and small say they are struggling to contain an escalation of store crimes — from petty shoplifting to organized sprees of large-scale thefts that clear entire shelves of products. Target warned earlier this year that it was bracing to lose half a billion dollars because of rising theft. The retailer reported a large number of incidents of shoplifting and organized retail crime in its stores nationwide.

It’s not clear that crime is growing significantly more serious. Within the industry, at least one major player has argued that the problem is being overhyped: Walgreens earlier this year changed its tune on store theft hurting its business, saying, “Maybe we cried too much last year.”
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Is this really happening, or has it become the reason de jour that profits are down to keep bonuses up?

Thoughts? What are people seeing in these stores?
 
WTF do bonus have to do with anything? That doesn't seem to be addressed in the article at all. It seems household goods retailers across the board are experiencing increases in shrinkage, particularly any that serve low income communities.

Not a big surprise. :dunno
 
When things get locked up at a retailer, that’s when I shift my shopping for that item to Amazon. Don’t treat me like a criminal when Bezos (I guess it’s Jassey now :dunno) can send it directly to my home.
 
My local home Depot had copper pipe up front behind the customer service counter. Never seen that before. Copper fittings are easy to steal (good luck finding what you are looking for in that disaster....) But full 10 foot sticks? How are people stealing that? Cutting it up and stuffing down their pants maybe
 
Eldritch said:
WTF do bonus have to do with anything? That doesn't seem to be addressed in the article at all. It seems household goods retailers across the board are experiencing increases in shrinkage, particularly any that serve low income communities.

Not a big surprise. :dunno
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Bonuses are directly tied to profits, if they have an excuse for why profits are lower that isn't themselves, they can justify higher bonuses.
 
Some of those CEOs are literally stealing their salaries by running their companies... right into the ground... is that what they're referring to? :laughing

Gustavo Arnal, the former CFO of Bed Bath & Beyond seemed to have a pretty good idea of his job performance....
 
Margins, Brett. Figure one item lost/ stolen = 3 (roughly) items sold to make it back to 0 net loss. Not knowing the exact margins, 35% is a good place to start on aggregate. Retailers aren't selling 300% more product, so I'd expect that enough theft absolutely cuts into the bottom line. However, inside theft has historically been the largest source of product loss.

In the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2022 National Retail Security Survey, external theft including ORC was cited as the greatest source of shrink (37 percent), but employee and internal theft came in a close second (28.5 percent).

And while threats of violence might demand more attention, 36.2 percent of retailers said they were “somewhat more” concerned about internal theft compared to five years ago, and 20.7 percent said they were “much more” concerned. In addition, 58.6 percent of retailers said there was an increase in employee theft due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PwC’s 2022 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey backs this up, with 68 percent of companies saying they experienced new fraud and an increased risk of employee misconduct following COVID-19.
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https://losspreventionmedia.com/int...ult, retailers have,to employee theft in 2020.
 
Theft is real... as in real bad these days.

May not be the only reason (*cough cough Amazon*), but certainly a worthy reason to be considered.

To keep bonuses up sort of cracks me up. :teeth
 
What if people are stealing the merchandise from retailers to sell on Amazon? Is it theft or just a clever arbitrage play by budding entrepreneurs?
 
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I bet fewer people would steal if they had access to a better paying job or any chance of upward economic mobility. But that would hurt profits too. Whatever is a CEO to do?!?!
 
Are the increased losses across the board or only in those jurisdictions where the theft is not being prosecuted?

CA and NY are notorious for their policies regarding small crime, but just curious if theft is also up in, say, Oklahoma or Ohio or wherever.
 
I like that this cycle is finally coming full circle where people steal lots of stuff, then society wants to hug the stealing out of people, then retailers get sick of it and leave. Because otherwise society isn't getting that closed loop feedback telling them that they were being counterproductive to everyone's interests.
 
stangmx13 said:
I bet fewer people would steal if they had access to a better paying job or any chance of upward economic mobility. But that would hurt profits too. Whatever is a CEO to do?!?!
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You mean the thieves have jobs too or being a thief IS their job?
 
I just did the record store thing, for those that can actually do that. Cool stuff.

Anywho, the aisles are angular with no straight exit. I dunno if it is a crime preventing thing or just to confuse stoners, but it would confound grab and dash
 
Holeshot said:
You mean the thieves have jobs too or being a thief IS their job?
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Does it matter? Im sure both cases exist in any reasonably large population.

Ant said:
So if they could afford luxury items then they wouldn't have to steal?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...lendale-california-the-americana/70569606007/
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On average, probably. Are people in general more likely to steal when they have their needs satisfied - I doubt it.

Of course, if they could afford all the luxury items (ie super wealthy), then they may start stealing again. But it'd be legal or a white-collar crime and they'd get a slap on the wrist. : |
 
byke said:
I like that this cycle is finally coming full circle where people steal lots of stuff, then society wants to hug the stealing out of people, then retailers get sick of it and leave. Because otherwise society isn't getting that closed loop feedback telling them that they were being counterproductive to everyone's interests.
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Who is 'they' in your statement? It's unclear to me.

I don't think there is a strong enough feedback loop yet to cause noticeable change in the occurrence of theft. Retailers likely haven't exhausted all possibilities for band-aid fixes. Theyll add security, modify stores, pressure politicians to increase policing, or pull out of the market. But did any of that fix the reasons why people are stealing? Doubtful.
 
They being people that think you can fix theft with hugs.
 
Climber said:
Bonuses are directly tied to profits, if they have an excuse for why profits are lower that isn't themselves, they can justify higher bonuses.
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You sound like someone who doesn't know many Executives and hasn't been to many Board meetings.

For starters, bonuses are not always directly tied to profits. Rather than goign down the rabbit hole of your weird obsession with executive bonus structures, let it suffice to say that shrinkage is an acknowledged ongoing problem in the current retail environment, particularly in States like California that have essentially decriminalized a lot of retail theft.

Ant said:
So if they could afford luxury items then they wouldn't have to steal?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...lendale-california-the-americana/70569606007/
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To be clear, there is no way these cats were keeping the items. This was kept as inventory to be resold as part of a criminal enterprise.

The resale of stolen retails items has become a billion dollar business in America.
 
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