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Aaron Henderson promoted to Vice President of Loss Prevention and Food Safety for Penske
Penske is pleased to announce the promotion of Aaron Henderson to Vice President of Loss Prevention and Food Safety, recognizing his recently expanded global responsibilities including developing and leading their food safety strategies. He will continue to report to Debra McKibben.

Since joining Penske Logistics in 2009, Aaron has successfully demonstrated his leadership capabilities by assembling a highly competent team of loss prevention and food safety professionals. He has also successfully implemented comprehensive processes and procedures to keep our customers' inventories safe, accurate and in compliance with government regulations.

Aaron brings more than 25 years of experience in the loss prevention discipline. Before his time with Penske, he provided loss prevention leadership to companies such as Circuit City, Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's. Aaron proudly served over 27 years as a soldier in the U.S. Army both in the active and reserve component. He progressed through multiple leadership positions retiring in 2014 as a Command Sergeant Major.

Aaron holds an associate's degree in criminal justice from Coastline Community College and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. He is a certified loss prevention professional. Aaron continues to reside in Aurora, Ohio with his wife, Patti, and their two sons, Blair and Brent. Congratulations Aaron!

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

The D&D Daily's 2017 Internet/Featured Jobs Report

In the Featured Jobs column in Q4 2017 we posted 48 featured jobs:

● 3 VP, AVP or SVP positions
● 19 Director positions
● 4 Senior Director level positions
● 3 Regional, Market or Field Director positions
● 8 Senior Manager or Corporate Manager positions

In Quarter 4 of 2016, the Daily posted 39 featured jobs:

● 2 VP positions
● 18 Director positions
● 1 Senior Director level position
● 6 Senior Manager/Corporate Manager positions

Throughout 2017, the Daily posted various job titles including Safety and Security, Operations, Investigations, Program Manager, Cyber Security and Information Security.

While the Daily increased in the number of featured and internet jobs posted in Quarter 4, throughout the whole year, the Daily posted less internet jobs this year (4,838) than in 2016 (4,944).

Due to the number of store closures seen in 2017, as many as 6,800 according to Patch, job cuts, and especially loss prevention/asset protection, ORC and store detective position cuts and reorganizations at stores like CVS and Walgreens, Ascena, Regis Salons, Office Depot, Forever 21 and BLD Brands/Serazen, Sears, and Petco, the amount of jobs posted on retail websites for LP/AP/Security positions decreased.

While the beginning of 2018 has seen more job cuts already, it will be interesting to see how the retail industry, and consequently LP/AP job postings, plays out with ecommerce becoming a bigger influence on brick and mortar stores and their employees.

Read the full report here

Economic Crime Claims More Victims
Crime Costs: An analysis of data from 7,228 organizations in 123 countries by PwC found 49% were a victim of economic crime in the past two years, up from 36% who said so in 2016. For the first time, more than half of the U.S. organizations (53%) said they were victimized; 38% said the same two years ago. Among U.S. organizations, 37% said the cost of the crime against them exceeded $1 million, compared to 18% of global responses. Fifty-two percent of U.S. organizations said they increased or significantly increased spending to fight fraud; 42% said they plan to.

"Damage from economic crime goes far beyond financial loss," the PwC report said. "Today, there's amplified danger of damage to a company's reputation. With public expectations of companies and their business partners at an all-time high, even a small matter can blow up into a large and consequential issue in the public eye." wsj.com

The New ID Theft: Thousands of Credit Applicants Who Don't Exist
In a twist on ID theft, criminals are deploying figments of their imaginations, in what is often called synthetic-identity fraud. It's one of the fastest growing forms of identity crimes, the Justice Department says, and among the hardest to combat.

Because the person taking out cards or loans isn't real, there are no consumer victims to alert lenders. When companies and law enforcement discover something amiss, they often wind up chasing ghosts.

Synthetic-identity fraud exploits a vulnerability in America's consumer-credit system. Lenders often consider a loan applicant legitimate if the applicant has a credit report at Equifax Inc., TransUnion or Experian PLC. But a new "credit file"-essentially a precursor to a credit report-often gets created when someone simply applies, even if the loan doesn't come through.

While a small part of total identity-fraud losses-that number hit about $16.8 billion in 2017, according to consulting firm Javelin Strategy & Research-synthetic-identity losses are soaring. TransUnion says a record $355 million in outstanding credit-card balances was owed by people who it suspects didn't exist in 2017, up more than eightfold from 2012.

In January, Accenture PLC listed synthetic-identity fraud as one of the biggest threats facing banks in 2018, saying it would be "costing banks billions of dollars and countless hours as they chase down people who don't even exist." wsj.com

Society For Human Resources Management Article Today
Should Trained Managers Be Armed in the Workplace?
Employers could be held liable if someone is injured
News of mass shootings and their tragic results have left many people wondering what can be done to prevent or mitigate the consequences of violent acts-including acts committed in the workplace. Should a few trained managers be allowed to carry guns at work? What are the risks and benefits? Employment law attorneys weighed in.

Employers already have a lot of things to worry about when it comes to managing their workforce, so a policy permitting weapons in the workplace would add a great deal of responsibility and risk, said Rodney Moore, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Atlanta.

It may be more effective for employers to increase their security budgets so they can install more cameras, hire more security guards or offer more safety training to employees, he said.

Editor's Note:  Needless to publish anything else in the article, but leave it to say that - they actually brought up the subject? shrm.com

Retailers take sides on gun policy. Is the risk worth the reward?
U.S. retailers have a gun problem - even the ones that don't sell firearms. Public outcry over firearms has reached a fever pitch, and with good reason. Since Jan. 1, there have been 37 mass shootings in the United States according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an event where "four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident."

Despite - or perhaps because of - the divisive nature of the issue, retail brands that have not yet made statements about guns need to think long and hard about taking a stand on this issue. "Retail brands need to take seriously any issue that conflicts with or supports the brand's own well-defined values, or the values that matter most to its core customers," said Peter Verrengia, senior partner at the global communications management firm of FleishmanHillard. "If you don't have well-defined values, or don't track the values of your brand fans, employees and other constituents, you are in trouble in today's bisected America."

Deb Gabor, CEO of Sol Marketing, a brand strategy consultancy, said it comes down to how brands are defining themselves and their values. "A brand is a magnet that draws people together to share the beliefs behind the brand," said Gabor. "And when brands say, 'This is our social responsibility, and we feel strongly about protecting people,' that's a strong choice. That's designed to draw the brand to its customers.

"The risk is they might alienate part of their audience, but it's a calculated risk," he said. "A brand doesn't make this decision without thinking about the impact on its revenue." The risks exist no matter which side of the debate a company chooses. retaildive.com

Why It May Be Impossible to Measure the Impact of Stores Limiting Gun Sales
Both sides of the gun control debate saw this week's decisions by Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart and Kroger to limit firearms sales as symbolically game-changing.

But whether those changes will actually have a meaningful effect on gun sales is difficult - if not impossible - to know.

There is no nationwide registry that tracks gun ownership while firearms are available to purchase from a decentralized network of retailers, shows and individuals that operate publicly, privately, online and offline.

Efforts to require a nationwide registry have also faced resistance over concerns about potential threats to Second Amendment rights - a central repository of data could eventually lead to firearms being confiscated by the government, critics have said. Some researchers have blamed the National Rifle Association, the firearms industry's powerful lobbying group, for blocking the government's ability to study guns and gun crimes.

There is a way to get a partial picture of retail gun sales from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which was established by the F.B.I. in 1998. But that system, too, lacks detailed data. nytimes.com

Wyoming Bill would raise bar for felony property crimes from $1,000 to $1,500
Wyoming House Bill 55, which passed out of the House last week and is now under consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, would raise from $1,000 to $1,500 the amount of damage an offender would have to cause to qualify as a felon. codyenterprise.com

Nearly 5,000 Cargo Thefts in Europe, Middle East, Africa in 2017
'Curtain Slashing' Trucks Accounts for 44% of Thefts
There were 4,485 cargo theft incidents in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in 2017, according to SensiGuard's Supply Chain Intelligence Center report.

The top five countries for incidents were the United Kingdom with 1,533, Germany with 1,070, Belgium with 665, the Netherlands with 579 and South Africa with 172.

More than 90% of all thefts in the U.K. occurred in unsecured parking areas, and the region with the most incidents was East Midlands with 754, or nearly half of all thefts. In Germany, cargo theft is less concentrated in one region with Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia each accounting for about 19% of thefts and Lower Saxony for 13%.

The top modus operandi for thievery in the Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, is "curtain slashing" - where thieves cut the canvass tarp covering the side of a truck, a style more prevalent outside North America. Curtain slashing accounted for 44% of thefts, followed by pilferage at 31%, hijacking 6%, vehicle theft and facility theft each with 5%, fuel theft 4%, theft of full truckload 3% and deceptive pickup and last-mile courier each with 1%. ttnews.com

Costco Wholesale Club claims the top spot in the ranking by Indeed,
a job review site
Retailers took four out of the top 10 spots in a ranking of the best companies to work for - as ranked by employees - with regards to compensation and benefits.

In coming up with the list, Indeed, which has over 18 million company reviews in its database, including companies with at least 600 reviews between January 2016 through January 2018. In addition to compensation, Indeed considered factors such as hourly pay, health care, dental care, parental leave and company matching for retirement plans.

The other retailers that made the top ten were grocers, HEB (No. 7) and Aldi (No. 8). Starbucks ranked No. 9. Another supermarket retailer, Publix, came in at No. 11. chainstoreage.com

Zara Introduces Robots To Speed Up Online Order Pickup
To solve for fashion retailer Zara's customers facing long lines to pick items up in its stores, the company is turning to a high-tech solution for its "click and collect" service. Robots will now fetch items from the back of the house and speed up the in-store pick-up process, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Customers who have placed online orders can scan or enter a code at collection points in Zara stores. Then robots search for the corresponding order and bring it to a drop box where a customer can pick it up.

One-third of Zara's worldwide online sales are already picked up in a Zara store. That demand created long lines in some of its locations as employees manually searched for and found customers' orders. Customers can pick up items at thousands of the brand's brick-and-mortar stores, with 85 locations in the U.S. offering the service. pymnts.com

Restaurants, groceries beef up effort to identify food sources
Darden Restaurants, Publix, Winn-Dixie and other grocers have launched their own "sustainable seafood campaigns," and other companies are rallying around commitments to animal welfare and curbing overuse of antibiotics. It comes in response to a growing consumer desire for cleaner foods such as organic and locally grown products, as well as pressure from activists to cut down on what they see as abuse in supply chains, said Steve Kirn a lecturer at the University of Florida's Miller Retail Center.

The move towards more transparency comes after decades of criticism of other consumer industries, such as scrutiny of Nike's factories in Vietnam or Apple supplier factories in China. Many efforts to identify the source of materials in textiles, and later, in food, date to a 1998 lawsuit Nike settled over claims it deceived the public about the use of sweatshops in China to make shoes. That case birthed the term "greenwashing" for such efforts.

Red Lobster co-owner Thai Union, one of the world's largest seafood suppliers, was the subject of a 2015 Associated Press investigation into the use of forced labor on shrimping and fishing vessels in Southeast Asia. The reports traced seafood caught using fishermen confined to boats for months at a time and supplied to many of America's largest supermarket and restaurant chains. orlandosentinel.com

'The Unloved Retail Sector Is Quietly Attempting a Rebound'
After one of their toughest years ever, beleaguered U.S. retailers are enjoying a pickup in quarterly sales, helping to boost the shares of many brick-and-mortar operators even as the stock market stumbles this year.

The moves mark a partial respite for retailers, which have reckoned with sliding sales, record store closures and bankruptcy filings as consumers have increasingly shifted to shopping online. The bleak outlook led many investors to sour on the sector last year, sending shares of several department stores, including Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Sears Holdings Corp., down by double-digit percentages, while the S&P 500 knocked out a 19% gain.

But in recent weeks, a string of retailers has posted stronger-than-expected earnings, driven by a pop in holiday sales and further rounds of cost-cutting. That has helped spur a rally in shares of companies running everything from department stores to electronics chains to bargain outlets. The S&P 500 department stores sub-industry index has climbed 14% this year, while an S&P 500 index tracking the performance of electronics retailers has risen 10% and the broad S&P 500 has gained 0.2%.

"Right now we're seeing the perfect scenario for retailers: high consumer confidence, relatively low expectations [around their performance] and stronger-than-expected consumer spending. When you put all these things together you have the retail earnings season in a nutshell," said Victor Jones, director of trading at TD Ameritrade. wsj.com

Lidl have perfect response 'to thieves looting store in blizzard before demolishing it with stolen digger'
The Lidl social media gurus have decided to pay little attention to the weekend's happenings. Instead they tweeted as if nothing had happened at all, Dublin Live reports. And when asked by a follower what they did, the Lidl spokesperson responded "Kicked back, watched a bit of TV - pretty quiet tbh."

Nine people were arrested after a rampaging mob looted a Lidl in Dublin on Friday - then demolished the building with the stolen digger. Footage posted online appears to show a digger being used to tear down the shop's roof while another purportedly shows a mob trying to break into a safe in deep snow. mirror.co.uk

Memphis, TN: Thousands of dangerous drugs are missing or stolen in Tennessee; employee theft accounted for 42 cases in 3 years
The Drug Enforcement Agency said more than 3,200 opioids are lost or missing in the state. The main reasons the drugs were lost during delivery taken by pharmaceutical employees, or stolen during break-ins. A FOX13 investigation discovered opioid crisis is also caused by a lack of inventory controls from manufacturer to retailer, pharmacy and customer. According to the data, there were 139 cases of drugs stolen during some kind of break-in. Employee theft accounted for 42 cases. The most common way drugs end up missing or lost is during delivery with nearly 570 cases. fox13memphis.com

US customs agencies seize $1.2B in counterfeit imports
Illegal goods market continues to grow - Up 8% From LY
America's two largest customs agencies announced a new record Monday for the number of counterfeit and pirated goods intercepted while being imported to the United States in one year.

Customs officials apprehended 34,143 shipments, with more than 692 people arrested. China and Hong Kong exported 87% of the counterfeit goods seized.  washingtonexaminer.com

Dramatic heist: Thieves steal $5 million from Lufthansa plane in Brazil
A group of thieves stole $5 million in cash, which had been due to travel from Brazil to Switzerland aboard a Lufthansa jet, at a large freight airport near Sao Paulo, police said Monday.

The spectacular heist, which took place late Sunday, was completed in a matter of minutes, and authorities have yet to arrest a suspect.

The crooks entered Viracopos International Airport's freight terminal using a pickup on which they had "placed stickers mimicking the runway security company's logo," federal police said in a statement.

Germany-based Lufthansa's plane had been traveling from Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo and was making a stop at Viracopos -- Brazil's biggest freight terminal -- with Zurich as its final destination.

The stolen money had been held under the auspices of secure transport provider Brinks, according to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

The daily said five men had threatened security agents on the runway before taking off with the cargo, in barely six minutes. standardmedia.co.ke

Footwear Retailer The Walking Company Files 'Chapter 22' Bankruptcy

Target to remodel more than 1,000 stores nationwide by end of 2020

New gun restrictions are a win for Walmart and Dick's

Club Champion plans to open a minimum of 30 stores next two years


Quarterly Results
Target Q4 comp's up 3.6%, digital comp sales up 29%, sales up 10%, full yr comp's up 1.3%, sales up 3.4%
Ascena Q2 comp's down 2%, sales down 1.7%
   Ann Taylor comp's down 8%
   LOFT comp's down 1%
   Maurices comp's down 5%
   Dressbarn comp's down 12%
   Lane Bryant comp's flat
   Catherines comp's down 5%
   Justice comp's up 7%

 

Learn how Under Armour introduced a game-changing loss prevention strategy

After establishing a new standard for electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology for its North American stores, Under Armour does have one lingering regret. "I could kick myself for not discovering this solution sooner," said Sean Donnelly, Director of Global Retail Asset Protection and Investigations for the premier activewear giant.

"My advice to other AP leaders is to not write things off by thinking that something looks too good to be true. Be open to challenging the status quo and willing to put new solutions to the test. We learned that openness pays big dividends, and it's an important part of servicing any rapidly growing business that prides itself on innovation."

Read more here

Escaping Mediocrity in Team Meetings

Troy D. Elliott, CPP
Manager of Operations - Retail Asset Protection
Meijer Stores

At this point in your career I'm certain that you've attended your fair share of annual team meetings where you gathered with your peers and sat for hours listening to presenter after presenter as they shared endless Power Point slides about the topics at hand. From my experience, this is the typical method that many Asset Protection professionals present their information. Honesty, this is how I often communicate as well. After all, PowerPoint is such a simple and cool way to package your materials. There is just one problem; what once was cool is now just routine! As presenters we owe it to our teams to present the material in a manner which allows them to learn, understand, apply, and practice that knowledge. If the knowledge is gained in the room and left at the door, then the presentation was a failure. With these thoughts in mind, I set out to develop a presentation that broke from the norm and provided materials in a manner that would be engaging, exciting, and retained by all attendees. I developed an Asset Protection Escape Room to present my materials and this is how I did it.

An escape room, as defined by Wikipedia, "is a physical adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints and strategy to complete the objectives at hand. Players are given a set time limit to unveil the secret plot which is hidden within the rooms." As Asset Protection professionals our job is to identify, investigate, and solve for the causes of shrink within our stores. This daily objective lends itself well to the design of an Asset Protection related Escape Room.

Planning Phase
While conducting research for my Asset Protection Escape Room I learned that there are a multitude of resources available which can assist you in creating your own escape room. Some of these resources are free and others require a purchase to be made as they are essentially an escape room kit in a box. After purchasing the escape room kit in a box, I quickly determined that it would not meet my needs as it was too juvenile for my audience. After all, I am presenting to Asset Protection professionals here. Therefore I used free information to build my own from scratch. I would recommend that you conduct some online searches to understand what is available and what ideas you can implement in your own room. I also recommend participating in an escape room personally before trying to create one yourself. Only by experiencing the fun, excitement, and the challenge first-hand can you truly appreciate what you are attempting to recreate in your own escape room.

Read more of Troy's Guest Feature here

167 Applebee's Restaurants Hit With Payment Card Malware
Payment Card Data Stolen by Malware-Wielding Attackers, Franchisee Warns.

Anyone who dined out at Applebee's restaurants in 15 states - ranging from Alabama and Arizona to Texas and Wyoming - may have gotten a free side of payment card theft with their meal.

On Friday, RMH Franchise Holdings warned that all of the 167 Applebee's restaurants it owns and operates suffered a data breach in which point-of-sale systems were infected with malware designed to capture payment cards for anyone who dined at the restaurants.

Infection periods vary by location, but the earliest infections began on Nov. 23, 2017, and none appear to have lasted longer than Jan. 2, the company says. It has not published an estimate of the number of payment cards that hackers compromised. bankinfosecurity.com

Equifax Hack Could Cost 'Well Over $600M'
The breach could turn out to be the most costly in corporate history, with Equifax expecting another $275 million in costs this year. Costs could be "well over $600 million," including costs to resolve government investigations into the incident and civil lawsuits against the firm. cfo.com

2017 Was a Record Year for Cybersecurity Breaches
More than 14.5 billion malware-laced emails were sent in 2017, and there was a 1,000-percent increase in phishing efforts, according to AppRiver's annual Global Security Report. The report also notes that 1.9 billion data records were lost or stolen as a result of cyberattacks in the first half of 2017 alone.

2017 illustrated a significantly lower barrier-of-entry to the world of cybercrime with the emergence of malware-as-a-service, with user profile names and credit card numbers readily available on the Dark Web and distribution of 20,000 messages for just $40.

Looking ahead in 2018, AppRiver predicts that larger data breaches are on the way, and the volume of data stolen in the past year creates the potential for more widespread fraud, especially with the type of sensitive customer data stolen from firms like Equifax. The use of these hacked accounts and profiles is a jumping-off point for more creative and deceptive attacks. securitymagazine.com

More Security Vendors Putting 'Skin in the Game'
Product warranties, while still rare in the security industry, appear wildly popular among enterprises looking for more guarantees from their vendors. More than a dozen security vendors now offer some sort of warranty for their products and services.

Security product guarantees increasingly are gaining traction. A study by Vanson Bourne found that 95% of US companies want their security vendors to provide a guarantee on their products and services, and 88% would consider switching to a vendor that offered one.

Cyber insurance provides a level of risk coverage for enterprises, he notes, but vendors also need to offer some product guarantees, he says. "We're trained to think security can't be guaranteed," Grossman says. "But customers deserve [more]. Vendors need to put some skin in the game." darkreading.com

Continuous security monitoring advances automated scanning
Battling threats in today's fast-paced cyberworld means shutting down vulnerabilities fast, which requires round-the-clock monitoring. Learn how to make it happen in your company.

The world of cybersecurity moves at a blazingly fast pace, which means it's time to consider continuous security monitoring. Researchers discover and publicize new vulnerabilities every week, and attackers quickly build automated exploit tools that leverage those vulnerabilities to gain access to enterprise systems. Every time a new vulnerability hits the streets, the race is on for vendors to develop and release patches that administrators must apply before the first attack hits their systems.

Traditional approaches to vulnerability scanning run periodic scans of enterprise systems searching for known vulnerabilities and adding them to a remediation task list. Unfortunately, that's simply not frequent enough to keep pace with modern threats. Today's threat environment calls for a continuous security monitoring (CSM) approach that integrates information from vulnerability scans with other information sources to provide administrators with a real-time view of their security vulnerabilities. techtarget.com

16.7M U.S. consumers had their identities stolen in 2017 - 5% of U.S. pop.
Council of Economic Advisers Estimated Malicious Cyberactivity cost U.S. economy $57B to $109B in 2016
Colorado Tightening Cyber Laws
The 2018 Colorado General Assembly is also joining in with a bill that would impose further compliance responsibilities on organizations keeping personal identification information about Colorado residents. House Bill 18-1128 amends and adds further detail to existing laws on maintenance and disposal of documents containing personal identifying information and the duty to report data breaches to affected individuals.

HB 18-1128 tightens that requirement by stating notification must occur "not later than 45 days from the date of the security breach" and by providing a detailed list of what the notification must contain. In addition, the attorney general must receive notification within seven days of discovery of a breach. gazette.com

Real FM Radio on Your Smart Phone

Do you like to listen to FM radio? On select smart phones you can listen to live FM radio even without the internet service.

All mobile smart phone have the ability to receive FM radio signal. However, some have this feature disabled. Fortunately, there is a free smart phone app called Next Radio. Download it and see if your FM chip is active. If it is, and your phone is supported, simply plug in your headphones and enjoy live FM radio. This app offers some internet streaming stations as well.

Amazon tours D.C., Maryland and Virginia in search for new headquarters
Reported by the newspaper Bezos actually owns!
Officials from Amazon.com toured sites in Washington, Montgomery County, Md., and Northern Virginia last week - the latest sign that the tech giant is seriously considering adding a second headquarters with as many as 50,000 jobs to the D.C. area, according to officials in all three jurisdictions.

Three of the final 20 locations on Amazon's list are in the D.C. area, fueling speculation that the company founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, will make its second home in the area. washingtonpost.com

Report: Trump backs push to collect online sales tax
President Donald Trump is supporting traditional retailers when it comes to requiring states to collect sales taxes for online purchases.

President Trump's stance backs an appeal by South Dakota that the Supreme Court should overturn a law passed in 1992 that says companies with no physical presence in a state are not required to collect a state sales tax on purchases. The change could generate billions of dollars in revenue, according to Reuters. chainstoreage.com

Retailers push to end special tax treatment for online brands
Conventional retailers are working with industry groups to overturn a tax break that benefits e-commerce brands. On Monday, the Retail Industry Leaders Association public policy organization called Retail Litigation Center, along with more than 20 retail and wholesale trade associations, filed a document to overturn a rule that the Supreme Court adopted in the pre-Internet era. Specifically, the group hopes to influence the court to reverse special tax breaks given to online retailers. chainstoreage.com

Amazon.com, Inc. Gets "Lean" And "Mean" With Staff Reductions At Its Seattle Headquarters
Why has Amazon fired hundreds of workers at its Seattle headquarters?

According to Jeff Bezos, this move is the result of conducting a "head count" of employees and needs, and adjusting employment numbers accordingly.

The number of fired employees represents just a small percentage of Amazon employees - 300,000 in the U.S. alone. And, there are still 4,000 open positions in Seattle and 12,000 internationally. Obviously, the company is not downsizing, but it does look like it is re-configuring its workforce based upon its projected future. And, it is also looking for a second headquarters in the U.S., which of course will require additional staffing there, up to 50,000 according to Amazon.

The Seattle cuts are all in the retail division, according to one manager. It is part of an annual drive to eliminate those who are the most low-performing; however, fired employees were all encouraged to apply for other jobs that are still open in Seattle. valuewalk.com

Meet the new tech on the front line of the fight against fakes
Despite being solidly in the 21st century, today the integrity of products shipped from one place to another is still checked using old-fashioned methods. Recipients like border officers or wholesale customers resort to manually opening crates and containers to physically inspect items for authenticity.

Unfortunately, the eye can lie. It can be hard to verify integrity using an on-the-spot visual check alone. But thanks to recent technological innovations, the fake detection business is getting an upgrade. There are a multitude of solutions chipping away at counterfeiting across various industries in various points of the supply chain. But are these tools enough? digitalcommerce360.com

Chinese Retail Giant JD.com Launches New AI and Blockchain Accelerator

Vail, CO: Vail Police arrest 2 men with $20K in stolen merchandise stashed in a car
Two men allegedly stole more than $20,000 in merchandise from luxury shops in Vail and then got caught when they stashed it in an economy car. Just before 5 p.m. Sunday, March 4, Vail Police received a shoplifting report from the Tommy Bowers Ski Shop in the Solaris Plaza. Store staffers said two men stole $1,000 worth of merchandise. Police soon learned that two men had been targeting high-end retail stores, allegedly stealing ski apparel and accessories and storing the stolen items in their vehicle, a white Kia Soul. vaildaily.com


Gwinnett County, GA: Police searching suspects behind Multi-State ORC ring
Gwinnett County Police need the public's help to identify three people who investigators said are linked to a theft ring that stretches from Georgia to North Carolina. Most of the thefts happened between last December and February. Police said the thieves break into cars at local parks, steal purses or wallets inside, and then use the victim's credit cards and cash to buy gift cards. fox5atlanta.com


Little Rock, AR: Thieves run out of Apple Store with more than $22,000 in iPhones, laptops
Several thieves piled up electronics at the Apple Store in west Little Rock before darting out of the store with more than $22,000 of merchandise. It happened about 8:45 p.m. Saturday at the location in the Promenade at Chenal shopping center. An employee told investigators between four and six people stacked up items that included iPhones and MacBooks from the display tables in the business. The group then "ripped off the security cables" and ran out of the store and to the center's rear parking lot. arkansasonline.com


Taft, CA: Man hid inside Kmart to steal $11,321 in Jewelry
A would be jewel thief apparently hid in Kmart at closing time but the caper was foiled by a motion sensor and now he is in custody on felony burglary charges. The suspect was caught just before midnight on Feb. 25 and Taft Police said he had jewelry in bags when he was caught. The jewelry was valued at $11,321 at prices heavily discounted for a going-out-of-business sale, but Lt. Pete Aranda said the retail value of the items could be as high at $60,000 at actual retail prices. taftmidwaydriller.com



Panama City, FL: Police looking for suspects after Victoria's Secret theft
The Panama City Police Department is asking for your help after a theft at Victoria's Secret in the Panama City Mall. Officers say the theft happened on February 28th, 2018 at 8:30 p.m. Witnesses described the suspects as two black females in their 20's. They say they entered the store and began putting merchandise inside bags. The women then ran, but most likely had a car nearby. wjhg.com


Wallingford, NH: 2 men Arrested at Walmart attempting to buy Gift Cards with stolen credit cards at Walmart; 13 fraudulent credit cards seized

Springfield, MA: Police seeking suspect in Razor Blade theft from CVS

UK: York, England: 4 Arrested on Shoplifting charges at York Designer Outlet

Shootings & Deaths

Shaun Firestone named Sr. Investigator for AT&T in Mobile, AL

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Leadership Tips from Olympic Coaches, Physics, Mentors
 

6 Lessons to Improve Your Leadership Skills, From Olympic Coaches
Good leaders are a lot like coaches. They teach, correct and support their team as they rise in the ranks. Learn from the best Olympic coaches how to be a better leader with these six lessons. Know when to step back

There Are 2 Types of Leaders. 10 Questions to Find Out Which One You Are
Most of us don't think that physics have anything to do with leadership, but this science branches out into more realms in business and our professional lives than we think. Which leader are you? Newtonian or Quantum?

Seven Leadership Secrets You Should Already Know
Not everyone is a natural leader, some have received extensive training, had a mentor or wing it and hope for the best. If you want to be a truly great leader, here's what you need to know. Don't command and control

4 Simple Tips for Young Professionals Stepping Into a Leadership Role
Going from colleague to leader is challenging for those young leaders who are inexperienced. To help you get started in the right direction, here are four tips that will help ease your transition and get your footing in your new leadership role. Talk with everyone

Social networking sites have in essence dissolved any distance between the professional and the personal life of an executive. They enable employers to see every aspect of one's life at any given moment and can show historical patterns that resumes may not overcome in the future. What a person does on the net stays on the net, what is written will be read and, as time goes on, background checks will include social networks that go well beyond Linkedin. On the flip side, one could do well to maintain a sense of professionalism in every thing they do on the net and their profiles.

Just a Thought,
Gus

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