2019 GLPS - Group LP Selfies
Your Team - Your Pride - Our Industry
Building Industry Pride - One Team Selfie at a Time
 

Retail Responds to Mass Shootings - NRA Fights Back


NRA Statement on Walmart's Decision to Change Firearms Policy
Calls the Retailer's Move 'Shameful'
The National Rifle Association released the following statement today regarding Walmart's decision to change its firearms and ammunition policies:

"The strongest defense of freedom has always been our free-market economy. It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites. Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America's fundamental freedoms. The truth is Walmart's actions today will not make us any safer. Rather than place the blame on the criminal, Walmart has chosen to victimize law-abiding Americans. Our leaders must be willing to approach the problems of crime, violence and mental health with sincerity and honesty." nraila.org

Kroger joins Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in stores
Kroger on Tuesday followed Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in any of its stores, in states where "open carry" is allowed, unless they are authorized law enforcement officers. The announced changes come amid a wave of deadly shootings in the U.S., including two at Walmart stores this summer. Both companies are also calling on the government to strengthen background checks.

"Kroger is respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than authorized law enforcement officers," Jessica Adelman, group vice president of corporate affairs, said in an emailed statement. "We are also joining those encouraging our elected leaders to pass laws that will strengthen background checks and remove weapons from those who have been found to pose a risk for violence."

"A year ago, Kroger made the conscious decision to completely exit the firearm and ammunition business when we stopped selling them in our Fred Meyer stores in the Pacific Northwest," she also said. cnbc.com

Editor's Note: Let's see how the NRA responds to today's Kroger response tomorrow. This could be a potential problem brewing and let's hope we don't see some gun advocate activists respond at the store level or in the parking lots. Everyone needs to be overly aware this weekend.

From March 2018
Kroger announces it will stop selling guns altogether following Parkland shooting
Other Retailers Respond with Similar Measures
After recently imposing restrictions on the sale of firearms, ammunition and assault rifle-themed publications, Kroger has decided to stop selling guns altogether. The nation's biggest supermarket chain on Monday said it it would phase out all sales of firearms and ammunition at its 132 Fred Meyer stores, which are located in four Western states: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Other retailers also reacted to the Feb. 14 slayings of 17 students and faculty at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Walmart banned the sale of guns and ammo to anyone under 21, and Dick's Sporting Goods prohibited the sale of assault-style rifles and raised the minimum age to purchase for other firearms to 21.

A slew of companies also ended discount programs with the National Rifle Association amid a corporate backlash against the gun-rights lobbying organization that followed the latest school massacre. cbsnews.com
 

Canadian Security announces 2019 Community Leader Award winner
Circle K LP Security Exec Sean Sportun
Canadian Security magazine is pleased to announce the winner of our Community Leader Award for 2019: Sean Sportun. Sportun has 26 years of professional experience in the security industry and has spent the last 13 years as manager of security and loss prevention for Circle K Stores Central Canada Division.

During his career, Sportun has consistently volunteered his time and expertise to worthwhile causes and industry associations. In 2002, he joined the Toronto Crime Stoppers volunteer Board of Directors and is currently the program's chair. He is first vice-president of the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers and second vice-president of the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners. In 2017, he was a member of the elite security organizing committee for the Invictus Games which were held in Toronto.

Sportun has been recognized numerous times for his volunteer efforts and professionalism. In 2013, he was named Security Director of the Year by Canadian Security magazine's editorial advisory board.

Click here to see other 2019 winners that will be recognized at Canadian Security Honours on Oct. 3 at the Sandman Signature Hotel in Toronto, ON. canadiansecuritymag.com
 

Hurricane Dorian to cost retailers $1.5 billion & threaten back to school sales
Consumer spending is expected to decline as much as $1.5 billion, according to data analytics firm Planalytics.

Foot traffic at apparel stores is expected to fall 25%, while visits to outlet centers will decline 32%. Restaurant traffic is expected to decrease 14%.

Home centers, grocery chains and convenience stores are going to see surges as consumers stock up on emergency necessities.

Spending will go to grocery store chains and home improvement centers like Lowe's and Home Depot as consumers stock up on necessities. Mass merchants like Target and Walmart will also see a boost.

Evan Gold, executive vice president at Planalytics, said companies with a large presence in the southeast are particularly vulnerable, such as BJ's Wholesale,. Dillard's, Disney and supermarket chain Publix.

Dillard's has 42 stores in Florida, 12 in Georgia, and 21 in the Carolinas. Publix has 831 stores in Florida, 190 in Georgia, and 110 in North and South Carolina, according to its website. As of noon Wednesday, it said it was closing 115 stores. Forty-six of Walmart's stores were closed due to the storm as of the same time. Disney announced abbreviated schedules for parks in the Walt Disney World Resort on Monday and Tuesday before the storm.

"Retailers are increasingly using data and weather data to understand what the forecast means as it relates to consumer behavior, and they can better execute against that," However, Walsh also said that despite the sales declines, that spending is usually made up during the recovery phase.

When you take a very wide angle view of the overall impact, generally the stimulus smooths out the overall impact," he said. cnbc.com
 

Two Years Into the Biggest Discrimination Scandal in Retail - Nike Still Dominates
''Behind closed doors': The friction between the Nike brand & its corporate culture'
The company has faced public scrutiny related to how it treats women. A class action lawsuit alleging that Nike does not give women equal pay or advancement opportunities was filed last August, and earlier this year, a former Nike-sponsored athlete, Alysia Montaño, wrote an opinion in the New York Times that asserted Nike was deficient in its support for pregnant athletes.

While both of these events took place within the past two years, the company has not suffered any financial penalty in the women's space. CEO Mark Parker said at the end of fiscal 2019 that the business had grown in double digits.

"It's hard to overstate how important this year has been to the evolution of the women's offense at Nike," Parker said in a conference call with analysts at the time.

In the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the number of female Nike employees signed on to a class action suit continued to grow.

Nike's Dream Challenge

Editor's Note: Posing some good questions this article doesn't flinch at stating the facts, at presenting the conflicting public vs. reality brand identity and detailing the extent of the scandal over the last two years. Pointing out Nike's response without undermining the hard facts and real story. Remarkably it shows that the scandal actually had no impact on the business itself and it closes by saying "the biggest threat to Nike's dominance might be how fast Lululemon grows its business, not how Nike deals with its brand image."

Great read for the every retailer. As we all need to be aware of.



Sears slashing 250 jobs at Hoffman Estates HQ
No Current Plans to Shut HQ
"Affected employees will be placed on a paid administrative leave effective immediately for the time prior to the employment termination date," Sears said in the Aug. 29 letter. The corporate office is not expected to be relocated or shuttered despite the layoffs. "The employment separations are expected to be permanent; however, there are no current plans to close the entire facility," the letter said. A Sears spokesman declined to comment on the number of employees at the Hoffman Estates headquarters. chicaogbusiness.com

Knox County, TN: Prosecutors want to treat Shoplifters like Burglars
Will the Supreme Court let them? Abbie Leann Welch walked into a Walmart during business hours and out again with a purse stuffed full of stolen clothes. Her lawyer says she's a shoplifter. Knox County prosecutors say she's a burglar. The difference? Six years for Welch after a jury found her guilty in 2017 of misdemeanor theft and burglary, a felony. Her lawyer, Patrick Phillips, wants the Tennessee Supreme Court to decide whether prosecutors can treat such cases, traditionally handled as petty theft and trespassing, like felonies on the same level as a prowler who breaks into a store after closing time. "There's a fundamental fairness that's violated," Phillips told the court's five justices Wednesday. "There was never a burglary in the first place. I was at the courthouse talking to the other lawyers (when Welch was indicted), and none of us could figure out how they were going to make it burglary or why they were going to make it a burglary."  knoxnews.com


Cannabis Industry Puiblication - Cannabis Business Executive
Here's how that industry is presenting drug testing
So - how does this support for cannabis impact employers' drug screening policies?
Employers who choose to drug test must first determine whether employees must be given notice of the intent to drug test. 12 states require a written policy and/or advance written notice of drug testing. State laws also typically mandate who may conduct drug tests (usually only qualified testing labs), procedures after a positive test (such as whether the applicant/employee must be notified and/or given an opportunity to re-test), how the test results may be used by the employer (for example, for discipline or termination), and who pays for the test (typically the employer).

Article includes:
- An Overview of Current Workplace Drug Policies Across the United States
- What's Required of a Workplace Drug Screening Policy
- General Considerations
- Best Practices 

Read more here: cannabisbusinessexecutive.com

Hilton Global Marketing Executive Pleads Guilty to $855,587.25 Embezzlement from Two Employers
Baltimore, MD., Rebecca Jelfo, age 47, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud charge in connection with a scheme to defraud two employers of a total of at least $855,000 by submitting fraudulent and inflated invoices.

From approximately 2008 until December 2015, Jelfo was Head of Marketing and Communications for the Americas for Qatar Airway. Between January 4, 2016 and January 31, 2018, Jelfo was a Senior Director of Luxury Brand Marketing for Hilton. As part of Jelfo’s duties at both companies, she contracted with marketing vendors and was responsible for approving certain marketing invoices. Jelfo participated in an over-invoicing scheme designed to defraud her employers. Specifically, Jelfo submitted or caused to be submitted, false and inflated invoices purported to be for various marketing services or products provided to her employer.  justice.gov

Houston Woman Admits to Defrauding Dr. Pepper Snapple by Embezzling $125,000 in Rebates
Anna Maria Sites pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud against Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPSG). Specifically, in 2014 and 2015, FulFill administered a DPSG program known as 2014 Fast Start, which paid a $75 rebate for switching to a DPSG drink in soda dispensers. DPSG paid $125,000 for FulFill to manage this campaign. Sites was responsible for rebates not being issued. Only after receiving multiple complaints would she arrange for the monies to be dispersed.

Sites sent rebate fund reports for the 2014 Fast Start rebate program to DPSG, which falsely represented that rebates were being paid when, in truth, they were not. Sites faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. justice.gov

Will America Talk Itself Into a Recession? Trump's Advisers Are Worried
President Trump's economic advisers do not see a recession on the horizon, but they worry that gloomy news reports and a drumbeat of recession warnings could turn fear of one into reality.

In an interview on Thursday, the acting chairman of Mr. Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, Tomas Philipson, said that reporters who had fixated on possible signs of a recession in bond markets this month appeared "to want people to lose jobs" and "become not economically self-sufficient."

Americans have kept shopping, continuing to power economic growth. Consumer spending increased at an annualized rate of 4.7 percent in the spring, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, its fastest quarterly increase in nearly five years.

But one measure of consumer sentiment slipped by the most since 2012, data Friday showed, seemingly on tariff concerns: One in three respondents spontaneously mentioned the trade war.

"The way the media reports the weather won't impact whether the sun shines tomorrow," Mr. Philipson said. "But the way the media reports on our economy weighs on consumer sentiment, which feeds into consumer purchases and investments."

But some forecasters agree that fear itself could become a problem. Consumers drive about 70 percent of economic activity in America, and if they become spooked and pull back on purchases, growth could slow more sharply. Stock market losses could unsettle Americans and cause them to clamp their wallets shut.

"If headlines about trade wars and currency wars dominate the media and the airwaves," then "you could get in this spiral where people lose confidence and stop spending,"  nytimes.com

Editor's Note: Talk about building in an excuse before it happens. They certainly did just that. But they do have a point. Just watch the hurricane news coverage for all of the hair-on-fire click bait. And while it may not be America talking itself into it as much one side of the news taking advantage of the situation.

13 of the scariest crimes to ever hit the world of retail
We'd all like to think we're safe when we're shopping or dining out. Nobody wants to consider the possibility of danger while they're perusing shelves or sitting down for a meal. But horrible things happen everywhere, and retail stores and restaurants are no exception. The recent mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart, which claimed 22 lives, drove that terrible truth home earlier in August.

Business Insider gathered a number of the most frightening crimes to hit retail establishments. Some concern customers, while others were perpetuated against employees. Not all of them have been solved, but all of the incidents described are violent and disturbing.

Here's a look at a number of horrifying cases that occurred in retail settings:

• Four young Burger Chef employees vanished while closing up the restaurant for the night in 1978, and their murders remain unsolved

• In 2013, Al-Shabaab militants killed 67 people in an upscale Nairobi mall

• Five Wendy's employees died after being shot execution-style during a robbery in Queens

• A Lululemon employee was convicted of murdering her coworker in 2011

• A man murdered 21 people in a California McDonald's after reportedly telling his wife he was going "hunting for humans"

• Five women were murdered in a Chicago area Lane Bryant clothing store in 2008

• A serial killer preyed on the employees of fast-food chains like Captain D's, McDonald's, and Baskin-Robbins

• Five customers and employees were tortured and murdered during the robbery of a home audio store in Utah

• An unidentified serial killer stalked Interstate 70 in the early 1990s, killing at least six retail clerks

• An ex-Domino's manager led a murderous rampage against his former employer in 1985

• In 1991, firefighters responding to a blaze at an Austin yogurt shop were horrified to discover the bodies of four young girls

• An unemployed man with a history of misogynistic threats shot and killed 23 people after driving his truck through the window of a Luby's Cafeteria

• The owners and employees of a Brown's Chicken restaurant were gunned down in the eatery's walk-in fridge in 1993   businessinsider.com