A Message to the Loss Prevention Community from NASP

How can we help? What can we do? These questions resonate with all of us in this unprecedented time in our lives and our nation. We never know where and when the answers will come.

For our organization, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), the answer comes in the form of assistance to communities that generally prefer and rely on classroom-based offender education programs; programs which are now unavailable in order to comply with stay-at-home orders or to comply with social distancing requirements. To help them maintain continuity of services, NASP is making its online programming immediately available to courts and agencies in need of a temporary substitute for their usual classroom education.

Knowing that many of you in the AP/LP community often participate in victim impact panels or are classroom guest speakers in your local communities, please feel free to spread the word by sharing this information with your local courts, probation offices, and criminal justice agencies. Educational continuity is key to addressing recidivism and keeping the cost of repeat offenders in check.
 

Reminder to LP/AP Leaders:

Take Part in NRF's 2020 LP Risk Survey

Help Support the Industry - Receive $10 Dunkin' Donuts Gift Card

The NRF LP Council is asking for LP & AP leaders' participation in NRF's 2020 LP Risk Survey. The results are critical to help NRF produce our annual National Retail Security Survey (NRSS), along with additional content regarding our Organized Retail Crime Survey including cyber issues. In light of world events, we have also added a few question on retailer preparation on Pandemics like the Coronavirus.

(A PDF copy of the 2020 survey is available here for your convenient use prior to clicking on the active link below)

3 reasons to contribute besides the need for our LP Council to drive this research:

1. Your participation is important: Without you, we're missing an important piece of the retail industry. This data has proven to be an invaluable benchmarking tool to the retail community and law enforcement partners for many years. Your answers will be completely anonymous and analyzed in combination with other responses - your participation ensures benchmarks are representative of the retail industry.

2. It's easy: The survey should take only 20 minutes to complete.

3. What's in it for you: In addition to receiving benchmarking data specific to the retail industry, we'll send you a $10 Dunkin' Donuts gift card as a thank you for completing the survey in full.

Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NRFRiskSurvey2020
 

Coronavirus Update: April 7

US: Over 386K Cases - 12K Dead - 21K Recovered

 Worldwide: Over 1.4M Cases - 81K Dead - 300K Recovered
 

Grocery workers are beginning to die of coronavirus

At least four people – who had worked at Walmart, Trader Joe’s and Giant – have died from covid-19 in recent days

Major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country.

A Trader Joe’s worker in Scarsdale, N.Y., a greeter at a Giant store in Largo, Md., and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died of covid-19, the disease the novel coronavirus causes, in recent days, the companies confirmed Monday.

Though more than 40 states have ordered nonessential businesses to close and told residents to stay home to stem the spread of the virus, supermarkets are among the retailers that remain open. Thousands of grocery employees have continued to report to work as U.S. infections and death rates continue to climb, with many reporting long shifts and extra workloads to keep up with spiking demand. Many workers say they don’t have enough protective gear to deal with hundreds of customers a day. Dozens of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Industry experts say the rise of worker infections and deaths will likely have a ripple effect on grocers’ ability to retain and add new workers at a time when they’re looking to rapidly hire thousands of temporary employees.

“One of the biggest mistakes supermarkets made early on was not allowing employees to wear masks and gloves the way they wanted to,” supermarket analyst Phil Lempert said. “They’re starting to become proactive now, but it’s still going to be much tougher to hire hundreds of thousands of new workers. We’re going to start seeing people say, ‘I’ll just stay unemployed instead of risking my life for a temporary job.’" washingtonpost.com

First known COVID-19 wrongful death lawsuit:
Evergreen Park, IL: Family of Walmart employee who died of COVID-19 complications files wrongful death lawsuit
Lax safety and cleanliness standards at an Illinois Walmart store caused a worker to become fatally infected by the novel coronavirus, according to what the lawyer for the deceased worker's family called the "first known COVID-19 wrongful death lawsuit" filed Monday in the Land of Lincoln.

The estate of Wando Evans, who worked as an associate at a Walmart store in Evergreen Park for more than a decade, claimed in a state court case that he and other workers contracted the disease while working at the store, and that the retailer committed "willful and wanton misconduct" by not using workplace safety measures that had been recommended by public health officials to curb the spread of the disease.

Evans died on March 25 of complications caused by COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He had been sent home from work two days earlier, according to his suit.

A second worker at the Evergreen Park store died from COVID-19 several days after Evans, and other workers at the store had exhibited symptoms of the disease around the same time, according to the suit, which says that Walmart didn't do anything to bar symptomatic workers from the store until after Evans died. law360.com chicagotribune.com

Walgreens to open 15 drive-thru testing sites for the coronavirus across 7 states
Walgreens said Tuesday that it plans to open 15 drive-thru testing locations for the coronavirus across seven states, starting later this week. The sites will be in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas, the drugstore chain said in a news release. They will use Abbott Laboratories’ rapid COVID-19 test.

Walgreen’s expansion of drive-thru testing marks the acceleration of an effort that the White House announced more than three weeks ago. President Donald Trump met with leaders of major U.S. retailers and health-care companies March 13 and announced in the Rose Garden that four companies — Walmart, Target, CVS Health and Walgreens — would host drive-thru testing in their parking lots. The U.S. has lagged behind other countries in the availability of coronavirus testing. cnbc.com

CVS gives on-the-spot results at two new COVID-19 test sites;
opens ‘pop-up’ pharmacy in America's next hot spot - New Orleans
CVS Health, in conjunction with federal and state officials, has opened two rapid COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites. The pharmacy giant said it hopes to perform up to 1,000 tests a day. The sites, in the parking lots at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, will be conducted using the new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test. Positive results can be delivered in as little as five minutes and negative results in as little as 13 minutes. Licensed health care providers from MinuteClinic, CVS’ retail medical clinic, will oversee the testing, which is available at no-cost to patients.

In separate news, CVS Health will open a ‘pop up’ CVS Pharmacy near the New Orleans convention center. The pop-up will support the medical monitoring facility inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The move is part of a larger state plan to use the convention center as a 1,000 bed coronavirus facility designed to ease the strain on New Orleans area hospitals preparing to treat an anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients. chainstoreage.com

Harbinger of retail's future?
Tyson Foods deploys walk-through temperature scanners
at three US sites that help feed millions
Tyson Foods is using walk-through infrared body temperature scanners at three processing plants in an effort to keep coronavirus out of its sites and maintain the stability of U.S. food supply. The scanners can check employees’ temperature as they walk into the building.

“Every person that needs to enter our facility, team member, visitor, anyone has their temperature taken before they enter the facility,” Tyson’s senior vice president of health and safety Tom Brower told CNBC.

The Food and Drug Administration said infrared body temperature scanners have not been approved to detect fevers as a symptom of COVID-19 but it’s exploring new guidance in response to the pandemic. Similar fever-detecting devices have been used to identify sick travelers in airports in Asia since the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Some other large companies say they’re either already using or exploring the use of walk-through temperature scanners. CNBC mentions Goldman Sachs, Ford, Carnival Cruise Line, and UPS among companies that are considering implementing the technology. cnbc.com

Kroger limits in-store traffic with in-house technology; pilots one-way aisles
Beginning April 7, the nation’s largest supermarket retailer will begin to limit the number of customers to 50% of the International Building Code’s calculated capacity to allow for proper physical distancing in every store.

(Walmart is also limiting the number of shoppers who can be in its stores at any one time.)

As an illustration, the standard building capacity for a grocery store is one person per 60 square feet. Under Kroger’s new reduced capacity limits, the number will be one person per 120 square feet. Kroger will monitor the number of customers per square foot in its stores using its QueVision technology, which already provides a count of the customers entering and exiting stores. chainstoreage.com
 

New Retail Layoffs & Furloughs

Abercrombie & Fitch announces all North American store associates will be furloughed

Capri Holdings will furlough about 7,000 North American retail workers

Le Tote, Lord & Taylor institute 'significant' company-wide layoffs, extend furloughs

Ralph Lauren will furlough all store employees associated with the temporarily closed locations

REI keeps stores shut, furloughs many of its workers for 90 days; CEO gives up pay for 6 months

RH announces it has furloughed 2,300 associates, permanently laid off 440 employees
 

The Prime Channel of Growth For Retailers
McKinsey & Company: Supply Chain Insights

Five actions retail supply chains can take to navigate the coronavirus pandemic

Retail supply chains are grappling with the humanitarian impact of the outbreak, as well as new operational risks. Five actions can help retailers bring goods to communities and help employees.

As the coronavirus outbreak has spread and its humanitarian impact has grown, retailers have stepped up their efforts to provide consumers with essential goods and to protect the health and well-being of the communities they serve. Particular challenges have arisen in global retail supply chains, where the pandemic's far-reaching effects have weighed heavily on the health and well-being of employees and jeopardized livelihoods and economic lifelines in many communities.

Retailers are now taking extraordinary measures to keep goods moving to store shelves and consumers' doorsteps. Supply-chain leaders are creating transparency and building rapid-response capabilities to mitigate the short-term fallout from the crisis. We focus in this article on the five actions retailers are taking to resolve the immediate challenges that COVID-19 presents to supply-chain workers, business partners, and operations.

How retail supply chains are adapting: Five priority areas

The pandemic has forced retail executives to mount urgent efforts to adapt their supply chains, whether by revising their purchase orders and merchandising plans or by reallocating all kinds of resources-working capital, inventory, employees, transport capacity-to where they are needed most (Exhibit 2 - below). We explore these changes in detail below. mckinsey.com

World Economic Forum: How long coronavirus survives on surfaces - and what it means for handling money, food and more
Viruses only replicate inside a living cell - outside the cell, they're on a path to either infect us, or their own destruction. How long a virus survives outside a cell varies. Research suggests it lives for up to 72 hours on hard, shiny surfaces.

Calm and calculated
Think more about the risk of the entire task rather than the many small risks encountered during the process. A silver lining in taking such precautions is that you'll also reduce your risk of catching the flu this season. weforum.org

Vermont prohibits in-person sales of nonessential items at big-box retailers
Big-box retailers in Vermont will no longer be selling nonessential items in effort to limit the number of shoppers in the stores during the coronavirus outbreak. The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development announced last week that it has ordered big-box retailers like Walmart, Target and Costco to limit in-person sales to essential items only. These items include food, beverages and medicine. The order lists clothing, toys, craft supplies, electronics, gardening supplies and sports equipment as nonessential and off-limits to in-store customers. fox8.com

McKinsey: 43% of consumers delaying purchases
Some 41% of American consumers expect the economy to rebound within two to three months, similar to Chinese consumer sentiment, according to a new survey by McKinsey. The U.S. sentiment is much higher than European optimism, which stands at 13 to 25%.

Despite the relative optimism about the economy’s resilience, the survey revealed significant signs of concern. Forty-four percent of respondents said they will reduce their spending during the next two weeks, and 43% are delaying purchases given the uncertainty of the economic outlook. chainstoreage.com

A Consumer Psychologist Details What Businesses Need to Know During COVID-19
Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist and author who has worked with consumer brands and malls, says that the disruption brought about by the coronavirus outbreak has changed the ways consumers react to marketing messages. “When people feel wounded and fearful, we very naturally look for allies,” she said. “For the businesses that look warm and generous and caring during this crisis … rather than impersonal and bureaucratic, there’s truly an opportunity to have longer term, deeper relationship with consumers.” uschamber.com

COVID-19: Law enforcement deaths
Tracking the coronavirus-related deaths of U.S. police officers and other LE personnel. policeone.com

12 NYPD members die from coronavirus; 20% of uniformed officers sick

Coronavirus deaths in NYC soar past 3K, surpassing total killed on 9/11

China officially ends 10-week coronavirus lockdown in Wuhan

Walgreens, Rite Aid enhance store safety measures: plexiglass shields, increased cleaning, customer-distancing signage

Rite Aid hiring 5,000 people, plus adding $2 per hour hero bonus

LP Helps: Navy Exchange Service Command Donates 240 N-95 Masks to Naval Air Station Pensacola Fire Department

RILA Releases Video: 5 Tips to Shop Safe During COVID-19

National Grocers Association Thanks #SuperMarketSuperHeroes

Lowe’s closing stores on Easter Sunday to allow teams to ‘recharge’

NRF: Estimated March imports hit five-year low, declines expected to continue amid pandemic

Gap Inc. Halts Summer and Fall Orders as COVID-19 Threatens Business

Mattress Firm to Pay Partial Rent as it Reaches Deals With Landlords

Pier 1 Imports asks bankruptcy court for permission to skip paying rent

National Supply Chain Threatened by Lack of New Truck Drivers
 

New York Partially Rolls Back Controversial Bail Reform
Last week the NY Senate and Assembly increased the number of bail-eligible offenses in response to the huge push back after rolling out on Jan. 1st one the most progressive bail reform initiatives in the country.

They made second-degree burglary, repeat-offenders, and several other offenses bail-eligible once again. newsy.com

Boston Herald Editorial:
Help retailers, end shoplifters’ ‘no prosecute’ status
Even in the best of times, the “no-prosecute” designation for the crime of shoplifting was a bad idea. It’s not victimless, in spite of the perception that stores can just “absorb” the loss. They don’t — they just lose money. Retailers Association General Counsel Ryan Kearney, in decrying Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’ move last year to add shoplifting to her list of “no prosecute” crimes, noted that Massachusetts businesses lose an estimated $1 billion annually in stolen merchandise. That leaves the state roughly $62.5 million short in sales tax revenue. bostonherald.com

American Dream megamall to emphasize entertainment offerings over retail
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic hitting the U.S., the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was slated to be a mix of 55% entertainment-related tenants and 45% retailers, when it was completely finished. Now, the project will be roughly 70% entertainment and 30% retail, according to its developer, Triple Five Group. American Dream will put touch-and-feel experiences to the ultimate test, once coronavirus restrictions are lifted. cnbc.com
 

'Dear Customers': These Are the Emotional Store Signs of a Closed New York

U.S. and Europe Turn to Phone-Tracking Strategies to Slow Spread of Coronavirus
Amid privacy concerns, nations work with apps, geolocation data to help identify and isolate infected citizens

Western governments aiming to relax restrictions on movement are turning to unprecedented surveillance to track people infected with the new coronavirus and identify those with whom they have been in contact.

Governments in China, Singapore, Israel and South Korea that are already using such data credit the practice with helping slow the spread of the virus. The U.S. and European nations, which have often been more protective of citizens' data than those countries, are now looking at a similar approach, using apps and cellphone data.

The U.S. federal government, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is creating a portal that will compile phone geolocation data to help authorities predict where outbreaks could next occur and determine where resources are needed, though the effort faces privacy concerns. wsj.com

Information Sharing Takes Big Step
Instacart Is Sharing Data With CPG Manufacturers to Prevent Supply Chain Issues

The grocery delivery platform released the initiative earlier than anticipated
due to the coronavirus

Aiming to help provide a solution to the ongoing problem of gauging shifts in consumer demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, online grocery delivery platform Instacart has opened its vast vault of data to the nation's producers of packaged food items.

For CPG partners that use Instacart's ad products, such as paid search, the platform has begun sharing its real-time inventory figures. Since Instacart delivers from 25,000 grocery stores, such as Costco, Kroger and Aldi, and is located in more than 5,500 cities across North America, the company said it has a unique ability to capture which products are running low and how people are filling their shopping carts.

"Because we're working with so many grocers, it gives us a line of sight to the purchase behavior of those consumers-a sample that's much more representative than just one particular specialty retailer." adweek.com

Establishing IT Infrastructure Through Security Operations Centers
Organizations need to have a cybersecurity strategy in place to identify and mitigate any potential threats. While there are many strategies to secure your business, a Security Operations Centers (SOC) can truly expand your vulnerability detection capabilities.

A security operations center is a team of people who are responsible for identifying security issues and incidents, monitoring systems and responding to events. SOC teams are also responsible for assessing and enforcing security policies. SOC teams monitor the entire organization, not just one system in a specific department.

This article reviews the benefits and challenges of a modern SOC and the differences between a SOC and a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) team. securitytoday.com

Best Practices to Manage Third-Party Cyber-Risk Today
According to Ponemon Institute's "US Cost of a Data Breach Study," third-party organizations accounted for 42% of all breach cases, dropping only slightly from 44% of all cases in 2008. These remain the costliest form of data breaches due to additional investigation and consulting fees. With the number of connected third parties increasing, and an explosion of cyberattack techniques and risk vectors, third-party risk management (TPRM) best practices are quickly evolving in surprising new ways.

At a recent Cyber Series event, sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce and FICO, Chris Wallace, director of cyber-risk at T-Mobile, described his bold approach:

Slot Vendors into Categories Based on Risk
Although T-Mobile is a large, well-resourced enterprise, a best-practice TPRM process will have the same basic elements, regardless of an organization's size:

First, build a framework for third-party categorization, to identify which partners need a deeper assessment based on their role in the organization's business activities, and the size and criticality of the relationship.

Develop workflow to address the intersection of risk and criticality. Working from the categorization framework, risk managers can use cybersecurity risk quantification tools to create portfolios of third parties. In this way, cyber-risk and business impact/criticality can be considered together.

Establish a cadence to frequently assess high-impact suppliers, through an analytic approach that combines business criticality and risk.

Ensure appropriate risk transfer, typically achieved through insurance. A simple approach considers the intersection of supplier risk and criticality, and requires insurance from suppliers where additional protection is indicated. Risk mitigation is also an option, either by increased third-party controls or additional controls at the organization. darkreading.com

Consortium of Fintech, Security Companies Create 1st Hardware-Free PIN-Based mPOS for Android

Charities, IT service workers most easily hoodwinked by phishing attacks – study

Facebook tool will help to track the effectiveness of social distancing