(Update) Visalia, CA: Kmart LP employee stabbed at Visalia store dies from his
injuries
The Kmart employee who was stabbed in Visalia has died from his injuries Friday
morning. 31-year-old Jeff Campbell passed away a day and a half after he was
stabbed in the neck and chest while escorting a customer out of the store. The
suspect, identified as 43-year-old Jeremy Kechloian had been acting strangely
inside the store, so he was asked to leave. For unknown reasons, he stabbed
Campbell, a loss prevention associate, near the store's exit. Kechloian is being
held without bail and will be back in court later this month.
abc30.com
In
Case You Missed It
The D&D Daily's Q1 'Retail Violent Death Report'
The D&D Daily released its Q1 2018 Retail Violent Death report in a
Special Report earlier today, showing that there were 125 publicly reported
deaths in the first quarter of 2018, a 12% increase over the same time period in
2017.
Click here to read the new report.
NATIONAL POLICE WEEK
Collaboration Begins With Recognition
Send An Email of Appreciation to Your Colleagues
In
1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial
Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week.
Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays
special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives
in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated
to honoring America's law enforcement community. The principal organizers of
National Police Week include: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund (NLEOMF), Fraternal Order of Police/Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary
(FOP/FOPA), Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).
nleomf.org
What Makes Retail Workers Uniquely Vulnerable to
Sexual Harassment
Inferior complaint procedures, lack of corporate oversight, and low-wages for
workers mean that retail has a sexual harassment problem.
Retail has a sexual harassment problem, according to a recent analysis by the
Center for American Progress. While media attention has largely focused on
the prevalence of harassment in politics and media, the study demonstrates its
pervasiveness across all industries, but particularly in ones with a high number
of service-sector workers, says the authors of the analysis.
The analysis examined a decade's worth of data around private sector sexual
harassment charges filed through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. Of the more than 85,000 charges analyzed, 48.3 percent specify the
industry in which these claims were made.
Notably, 13.44 percent of the EEOC's sexual harassment claims were made in
retail, which is the second highest percentage after the accomodation and food
services industry.
What accounts for this? Experts link the high rate of sexual harassment in
retail to the
particular vulnerability of its workforce, its low wages, and a hazy,
complicated, and sometimes ineffective complaint process following an incident.
Retail workers who spoke to Racked cite the same factors when speaking of their
experiences with sexual harassment.
Josie Torielli, the Assistant Director of Intervention Programs at the New York
City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, connects the high rate of sexual
harassment in the retail industry to the demographics of the industry's
workforce. She says that "from what we know about all sexual violence is
that it is a crime of power and control, and that usually people who perpetrate
these crimes will try to use vulnerabilities against the people that they are
targeting."
racked.com
Chipotle to pay $8M to Ex-Manager
Fired after being accused of stealing $626
In 2015, Jeanette Ortiz was fired as a general manager at a Fresno, California
Chipotle after working for the chain for 14 years,
The Fresno Bee reports. Ortiz was accused of stealing $626 in cash from the
restaurant's safe, with Chipotle superiors claiming to have viewed video footage
that implicated her.
However, Ortiz's attorneys allege that Chipotle destroyed the footage after
Ortiz denied stealing the cash. According to the attorneys Ortiz was
maliciously fired after going on medical leave due to a job-related injury
caused by carpal tunnel syndrome.
Last week, jurors ordered Chipotle to pay Ortiz $6 million for emotional
distress and $1.97 million for loss of past and future wages. businessinsider.com
A Crime Problem on the Upper West Side:
Shoplifting at Duane Reade
Top targets are razors, baby formula and cold medicine; the thefts have driven a
11.3% increase in the precinct's major crime.
A surge in shoplifting at one of New York City's most recognizable drugstore
chains is driving crime in the staid streets of Manhattan's Upper West Side-and
rattling the police.
New York Police Department Capt. Timothy Malin said he has had to take officers
off emergency radio calls and deploy them directly to the neighborhood's six
Duane Reade locations more than 880 times since the start of the year.
Thefts from Duane Reade account for 41% of larcenies under $1,000 this year and
32% of shoplifting grand larcenies in the 20th precinct, which covers most of
the Upper West Side. Larcenies at the stores alone are up 43% this year compared
with the same time last year, Capt. Malin said. The precinct has recorded no
murders this year.
Overall, the shoplifting at Duane Reade has driven a 11.3% uptick in major crime
in the precinct.
Another big drugstore chain, CVS, isn't experiencing the same theft issue at its
two stores in the 20th precinct. In a statement, CVS said the company doesn't
speak to specific security measures but it does use "technology to balance the
need to prevent theft with ensuring the products we sell are easily accessible
to customers."
The police, Duane Reade executives and industry groups said the larcenies are
part of a growing "gray market," in which gangs steal hundreds of consumer
products and send them to illicit warehouses, where the goods are inventoried,
scrubbed of labels and resold either to local stores or through third-party
websites.
wsj.com
Century
21 guard busted after seen on video choking, beating teen caught swiping Prada
shoes in Manhattan
Crime didn't pay for a Prada-loving shoplifter - or the belligerent security
guard who busted him.
Both
men were arrested after shoe-stealing suspect Victor Roberson was brutalized by
guard Wilson Acosta on the sidewalk outside the flagship Century 21 store in
lower Manhattan, police said.
"I felt as though I never should've been beaten so bad for what I stole," a
repentant Roberson said after his arraignment Saturday.
Three security guards choked and roughed up Victor Roberson, 19, who was caught
stealing shoes from a Century 21 department store on Dey and Church Sts. in
Manhattan. (via Twitter)
A video shot by a passerby captured Roberson announcing "I can't breathe" as
Acosta and two other security officers pinned the teen to the sidewalk and
pummeled him. One of the guards was caught on video punching Roberson, who was
left bleeding from the mouth and with a cut to his head. "I saw one of the
security guards put his hands around his neck and choke him." The video showed a
helpless Roberson, restrained by three men, taking blows to the face.
The arrested Acosta was quickly pulled off the job, according to a Century 21
statement issued Saturday.
The 24-year-old from the Bronx was charged with assault. His LinkedIn profile
indicated Acosta started working at Century 21 in 2011, and joined the downtown
store (pictured) two years ago.
A crowd soon gathered as the immobilized Roberson took the beating, prompting
calls to the NYPD. Cops arrived, dispersed the crowd, and arrested both suspect
and security guard.
nydailynews.com
Milwaukee Black Panthers demand action from Tosa
Police after incident
at Mayfair Mall
One day after a controversial arrest outside Mayfair Mall the Milwaukee Black
Panthers are demanding action from the Wauwatosa Police Department.
Cell
phone video of the incident shows a 17-year-old being arrested by police Friday
outside Mayfair Mall. At one point a Wauwatosa Police officer punches the
17-year-old in the face. Officers say they were called by Mayfair Mall security
for five people causing a disturbance. Police say one of them tried to fight
the officer who was attempting to detain him. They say the video shows only a
small segment of the interaction between the teen and officer.
The Black Panthers say they're holding police and mall security accountable and
are demanding the officer be fired and the department goes through diversity
training, "It doesn't matter if that individual was causing a disturbance in the
Mayfair Mall, he did not deserve to be brutally assaulted, and punched in his
face and knocked down and then placed on his stomach and punched in his face
again," said King Rick.
cbs58.com
MI Governor Signs Law Adding Retail Fraud -
Shoplifters to Reimburse State or Local Government Expenses
The need for this new law was brought to state legislatures attention by a
Detective with the Norton Shores Police Department. He noticed that the number
of retails frauds at the Lakes Mall in Muskegon County were on the rise. The law
also adds dealing in stolen goods and failure to make a court-ordered appearance
to the list.
minews26.com
McKinsey Accused of Running 'Criminal Enterprise'
The founder of rival AlixPartners says the consulting firm hid conflicts of
interest to win lucrative court appointments to represent bankrupt companies.
The founder of corporate restructuring firm AlixPartners has accused rival
McKinsey & Co. of making at least $101 million in bankruptcy consulting fees by
concealing potentially disqualifying conflicts of interest from the courts.
In a
complaint filed on Wednesday, Jay Alix said McKinsey had conducted a "criminal enterprise" to secure lucrative consulting appointments, making it
liable for violations of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act. cfo.com
"E-commerce Resilient" Vs. "E-commerce
Challenged"
Expansion of Store Fleets Slowest in Five Years - 1% Growth
Morgan Stanley Report - The Retailer's List
The analysts pointed to a slowdown in the expansion of store fleets across
retail, with current growth at less than 1% as compared to a 2% to 3% expansion
over the past five years. And even as retailers make fewer risky decisions
about capital spending, their margins are eroding as the "lion's share of
retailer growth" comes through e-commerce, which has lower margins than
store sales, the analysts note.
All
that leaves the more "e-commerce resilient" retailers in a better
position to draw returns from their investments in stores and other spending,
according to the Morgan Stanley team. Among them are the
off-price sellers - namely TJX Cos., Ross Stores and Burlington Stores -
which have been rapidly
expanding their store fleets and posting
enviable sales gains. The analysts also include in this group Home Depot,
Lowe's, Costco, Ulta, Michaels and auto parts sellers.
As the Morgan Stanley team frames it, retailers have been caught in a "margin
downdraft" since 2012 - during which time their earnings margins have shrunk
by 230 basis points - due mainly to e-commerce competition, the rise of price
transparency, shifts in their own sales from stores to online and the high
cost to retailers of free shipping.
The analysts describe the retailers in this boat as "e-commerce challenged,"
as they are "the most at risk from the growing presence of Amazon" and falling
returns on the investments they make to compete. The group, in the analysts'
view, includes: Pier 1 Imports, Williams-Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick's
Sporting Goods, Walmart, Target, Sally Beauty, Macy's, Nordstrom, Kohl's, L
Brands, Chico's, Tiffany, Lululemon, Michael Kors, Urban Outfitters, Gap,
Tapestry and American Eagle.
retaildive.com
Don't Let Divisions Lead to Workplace Dysfunction
For many of us, the workplace has become the most diverse setting in our lives.
Our work relationships tend to cut across race, gender, religion, sexual
orientation and political persuasion. Because of this, workplace environments
have the potential to orient us toward working across differences more than
anyplace else.
Still, businesses often represent a microcosm of society and companies find it
more and more difficult to avoid the tension that society's divisiveness
creates.
Studies show that workplace tension causes both generalized stress and an
increased reticence around talking about controversial issues, even when they
impact the work.
shrm.org
Federal Overtime Rule Changes Are Coming Jan '19
A halted 2016 rule would have doubled the salary threshold, but the new proposal
is expected to be less sweeping. The new rule will likely be more accepted by
the business community, said Eric Magnus, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in
Atlanta.
shrm.com
"Brandon's Bunch"
Bonus-grabbing Executives are fleeing Toys 'R' Us
With extra dough a long time before the formerly titantic chain goes down at the end of July.
Toys
'R' Us Chief Executive David Brandon and many of his top lieutenants
will exit the bankrupt chain on Monday - with the pockets of at least five of
them stuffed with bonus money, The Post has learned.
The execs will walk away from the sinking ship of a chain while thousands of
hourly workers finish the grim task of completing liquidation sales at hundreds
of stores across the country.
The five execs in Brandon's bunch shared $8.2 million in retention bonuses,
approved by the company a week before the Sept. 19 bankruptcy.
"It's very unusual for the C Suite to leave before the business is entirely
wound down," said bankruptcy lawyer Richard Weltman.
Industry insiders say that it's likely that senior Toys 'R' Us executives
will be sued for their roles in the bankruptcy.
nypost.com
Staples Lays Off More Corp. Jobs
Framingham-based TJX lays off 300 employees
The clock is ticking for Ascena
Burberry Accuses Target Of Counterfeiting Its Iconic Scarves, Other Accessories
80% of Merchants Believe Real-Time Payments Will
Replace Payment Cards
Sears Exploring Formal Sale of Assets
Rockport Files Bankruptcy - Store Closings Likely
Quarterly Results
Jamba Q1 comp's up 2.3%, 2017 comp's down 0.4%
Ingles Markets Q2 comp's up 1.7%, net sales up 4.1%
Last week's #1 article --
Sensormatic Global Shrink Index
New Shrink Study from Tyco Retail Solutions Reveals the Products and
Brands Most Likely to be Stolen from Stores
Shrink costs U.S. retailers a staggering $42.49 billion in 2015.
That's according to the 2018 "Sensormatic Global Shrink Index" from Tyco Retail
Solutions, which found that the most likely to be stolen from U.S. stores
included clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and confectionery, as well as consumer
electronics. The brands targeted the most included Guess, Gap, Revlon, Apple
(and Beats), Samsung and Sony.
U.S. fashion and accessories stores had the highest rate of shrink by retail
vertical, the survey found. Office equipment stores had the lowest.
Read more here
|
Retail Risk - Dallas: The world's biggest LP
conference series comes to Dallas - May 17th 2018
Since its inception the Retail Risk conference series has become a mecca for
senior retail risk and loss prevention professionals. Here's why...
An outstanding agenda, bursting with an international cast of retail risk and
loss prevention elite, leading academics and law enforcement personnel. Each
offering their own unique insights and expertise, with nothing held back. All
for delegates to study, learn and profit from and provided free of charge.
Add to this a great range of exhibitors demonstrating the latest tech and
techniques; unparalleled networking opportunities between professionals; round
table sessions facilitating free discussions in complete confidence on hot
topics affecting retail; as well as complimentary refreshments and an excellent,
hot lunch... and you can see why Retail Risk - Dallas will become a welcome
addition to the biggest retail risk and loss prevention conference series in the
world.
For more information, including registration,
click here |
On
the 11th of May 2018, at 11:41am cst, Fred Meyer Jewelers store, located inside
the Fairfield Kroger Marketplace in Cypress, Texas, became the victim of a Smash
and Grab. At the time of this incident, the suspects entered the location,
immediately approaching the island showcase, containing 11 Rolex watches. One
suspect hit the showcase with a sledgehammer three times, as a 2nd
suspect assisted in removal of the watches, while a third suspect acted as
lookout brandishing a firearm, and pointing it at the manager on duty. The three
suspects fled from the scene in a truck that police have identified as being
reported stolen. This incident occurred within 24 seconds. A total of 10
Rolex watches were removed during this incident, and damage to an 11th watch
left behind. This incident resulted in a total retail value loss of $106,800.00.
A
man accused of stealing items from a Serra Mesa Wal-Mart brandished a knife at
employees before leading officers on a wild chase Sunday morning, police said.
Around 5:45 a.m., employees at a Wal-Mart located in the 3300 block of Murphy
Canyon Road reported a man left the store with a tote full of unpaid items.
Employees say that when they confronted him, the suspect brandished a knife
before taking off in a gold Suburban. Police say he fled to southbound
Interstate 15 where officers began pursuing the vehicle. Shortly after exiting
the freeway, the suspect drove through fences belonging to businesses along
Market Street. The suspect made his way into a neighborhood near the
intersection of 54th Street and Santa Margarita Street, where he was finally
taken into custody.
