USA 2024 Elections Thread

grarpamp grarpamp at gmail.com
Wed May 31 19:03:24 PDT 2023


US Democrats rhetoric and policy is 100% responsible for this collapse
of society...

Major Grocery Chain Struggles To Survive Amid Wave Of Thefts

A grocery chain which operates primary on the East Coast says it's
taking measures to stay in business amid rampant retail theft and
crime across the US.

Giant Food, which operates over 160 locations across DC, Delaware,
Maryland and Virginia, has begun restricting entry and exit points,
beefing up store security (some armed), displaying fewer high-dollar
items on shelves, and reducing the number of self-checkout items,
company CEO Ira Kress told the Washington Post.
Ira Kress, president of Giant Food, says his company has taken some
actions in an attempt to deter shoplifting. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The
Washington Post)

According to Kress, retail theft has increased "tenfold in the last
five years," which is not "an understatement," while violence has
"increased exponentially."

"The last thing I want to do is close stores," Kress continued. "But
I’ve got to be able to run them safely and profitably."

According to Kress, the nature of shoplifting has changed such that
more and more retailers are simply allowing it - like Lulu Lemon,
which recently fired two employees for calling the police on repeat
looters.

"We used to chase shoplifters," said Kress. "And you’d get the product
back, and nobody would ever fight you."

"I didn’t worry about somebody pulling a knife or gun on me [40] years
ago," he said.

    The trend, which industry experts say is in its beginning stages,
could foreshadow a further emptying of downtowns already wounded by
the pandemic. Although retail vacancy rates for dense urban centers
have been declining over the past decade, figures from real estate
data firm CoStar show the numbers inching up in some cities. -WaPo

"For the big box and the grocery [stores], which are trying to
optimize a single-digit margin, it is very difficult to operate, and
you will see more and more exits happening," said Lakshman Lakshmanan,
senior director in Alvarez & Marsal’s consumer and retail group.
"We’re seeing the highest level of organized retail crime and theft
ever."

According to Kres, thieves have moved from swiping cigarettes to other goods.

"It's continued to escalate," he said. "So now it’s Tide and Dove and
razor blades and Olay, or roasts or shrimp or crab legs."

According to the retail federation, incidents of organized retail
crime increased in 2021 by an average of 26.5% - with store owners
blaming organized retail crime for around half of the $94.5 billion
lost that year due to retail shrink (stolen merchandise).

Other retailers taking similar measures

According to the report, REI - which will close its Portland, OR
location next year after nearly two decades, spent over $800,000 in
2022 on additional security at that location alone. This included new
windows with security glass, around-the-clock patrols, better outdoor
lighting and a new security camera system, per the Post.

While Foods has gone so far as to place fliers on shelves instructing
customers to find an employee to retrieve alcohol and expensive
supplements and other high-value merchandise from the back.
A shopping cart in a supermarket as inflation affected consumer prices
in Manhattan, New York, on June 10, 2022. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

"I was kind of surprised at the amount of effort that went into trying
to mitigate the situation," said Chris Torossian, former manager in
the bakery department at the company's San Francisco location.

    Theft occurred “pretty much daily,” Torossian added, and he
frequently heard from co-workers who felt unsafe. Team members were
instructed not to chase or accuse shoplifters. In one instance,
someone threw a cup of hot coffee on an employee’s face after they
confronted the individual for stealing the drink, Torossian said. He
also heard of instances where thieves brandished knives.

    In April, the company said it was closing the location “for the
time being” to “ensure the safety of our Team Members.” -WaPo

"We have the police come to our stores … they’ll take the information,
they’ll record it," said Torossian. "But there’s really nothing being
done with that, because they had two homicides that were a bank
robbery and two shootings. So it’s like, where are they going to focus
their time and attention?"

In May, Target CEO Brian Cornell told investors and analysts; "Beyond
macroeconomic challenges, we continue to contend with significant
headwinds caused by inventory shrink, building on a worsening trend
that emerged last year. While shrink can be driven by multiple
factors, theft and organized retail crime are increasingly urgent
issues, impacting the team, and our guests and other retailers."

"The problem affects all of us, limiting product availability,
creating a less convenient shopping experience, and put[s] our team
and guests in harm’s way. The unfortunate fact is, violent incidents
are increasing at our stores and across the entire retail industry.
And when products are stolen, simply put, they’re no longer available
for guests who depend on them. And left unchecked, theft, and
organized retail crime to grade the communities we call home," he
continued.

Maybe stop voting for those soft-on-crime Soros DAs?


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